Introducing Allied Spirit Revolution

Special education, athletics department collaborate for Allied Cheer team

The athletic department and the special education department are working to increase visibilty of special education students.

Yana Bushuyeva

The athletic department and the special education department are working to increase visibilty of special education students.

Rachel Eng, ’19, can’t wait for Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, she brings her practice bag, her white cheer shoes, her water bottle and a handful of friends who are just as excited as she is for Tuesday. Every Tuesday, 12 pairs of eager eyes stare at the clock, counting down the minutes until the day ends.

Eng is one of the 12 student athletes on the Allied Spirit Revolution team. Along with one on one helpers and rotating buddies (general studies student volunteers) and two coaches, the Allied Spirit team meets every Tuesday for an hour after school for practice. This year, the sports department and the Special Education administrators created a cheerleading program for Special Education students. 

“Allied Spirit Revolution is great,” Eng said. “We get to perform in school assemblies, and we wouldn’t had a chance to do that before.”

Often times, Special Education students are excluded in extracurriculars and sports in particular. Along with the separation of Special Ed classrooms and selective programs, Special Ed students are often presented with less opportunities in sports due to certain physical limitations and conditions. But the athletic department and the Special Ed administration are working together to make athletic programs accessible to students with special needs.

“It’s an important part of our job to make our students feel more included in Stevenson,” said Jean Kell, special education teacher and one of the Allied Spirit Revolution coaches. “We are concentrating our focus on creating more programs.”

The program strives to create an inclusive and safe environment for Special Ed students to practice sports and socialize with peers. In fact, all of the Allied sports, Bowling and Soccer, (starting this spring) share the same mission: Provide an atmosphere in which Special Ed students can have fun, make friends and experience being a part of a team. It also gives students confidence and opportunities to perform at games and other school assemblies.

“I think we need more programs like Allied Spirit Revolution, because it lets us try things we haven’t had the chance to do before.” Eng said. “Maybe we can compete with other schools and perform at games.”