Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe (WBZ NewsRadio)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Special Olympics Massachusetts has gifted a large grant to Boston Public Schools that will go towards unified sports programming for students with and without disabilities.
The $450,000 grant is the cornerstone of the partnership between BPS and SOMA, which aims to bring inclusive and equitable education and programming to students across the district.
On Wednesday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper, and SOMA President & CEO Mary Beth McMahon attended the inaugural unified basketball game at Brighton High School between student athletes and students with special needs.
"We received a seed grant from the U.S. Department of Education to start inclusive schools in the city," McMahon said. "It’s for inclusive programming from early motor development in our Pre-K and elementary schools, through inclusive P.E. in the middle schools, and then after school [high school] sports."
"It will enable everyone to have one more thing to look forward to when they come in and new relationships built among our young people," said Mayor Wu, who threw the jump ball at the start of the game.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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