On a recent Tuesday, the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School Unified basketball team gathered in the gym for practice. The players shot around until they were called to the sidelines to stretch. Some then shot the balls into the bags held out by the coaches, who smiled cheek to cheek.
This was a regular practice for the unified players, and they practiced with the same energy as they do throughout every season. The only difference now is that the program earned National Banner recognition last month from the Special Olympics, an honor that reflects the school’s commitment to inclusion.
“When you have so many young people that really take care and pride in this program, that’s how you meet all the criteria for the Special Olympics banner,” said Hunter Brochu, 32, program head coach and Structured Academics special educator at CRLS.
In unified sports, a student athlete who has an intellectual disability is paired with a student who does not have a disability. Instead of focusing on a students’ disabilities, the program focuses on their abilities.
The coed basketball team practices three times a week and has six to eight regular season games. At the end of the season, the team hosts a jamboree where six to eight other teams play in a round-robin-style tournament. Each team plays three to five games as a way to wrap up the season.
Cambridge’s unified program offers basketball, weightlifting, track and field and intramural sports. This winter season the program adds a bowling league.
Cambridge Rindge and Latin was one of 17 schools in Massachusetts, and one of 217 nationwide, to receive the National Banner honor for the 2024-2025 school year.
Schools can apply for the award and are assessed over a four-year period. If the school reflects the 10 national standards of excellence within the areas of inclusive school environment and youth leadership, whole-school engagement and sustainability each year, it is eligible for the recognition.
“We’ve seen our students flourish,” said Eric Chase, 33, program liaison and coach at Cambridge. “Students have started to have lunch with each other during the school day, and that connection might not have ever happened if it wasn’t for having the unified sports program.”
The program at Cambridge started during the 2020-2021 school year, with roughly four students participating. Since then, the teams have averaged 20 to 30 students per season. The program has become so popular that there is a waitlist.
Cambridge’s middle school does not have unified teams, but offers a gym class during the school day that includes athletes and partner athletes.
Brett Armstrong, 41, an adapted physical education teacher at the middle school and unified basketball coach, said one of the most rewarding aspects of his job is seeing student athletes grow and mature, as well as seeing athletes maintain relationships with their partner athletes.
Armstrong works to spread inclusion in middle school and gives students a gist of what they can expect in high school. He said it is gratifying to see his athletes mature and grow their relationships with partner athletes.
“The coaches are super welcoming,” said Charles Scott, 16, a partner athlete on the unified basketball team. Scott also said that recently at the end of practice, the team huddles up and puts their hands in for a cheer, making them feel closer.
Henry Thompson-Silbey, 17, a partner athlete who has been a part of the team for three years, said it’s been fun watching the program grow and be joined by peers such as Scott.
Along with creating a positive student environment, the coaches have found ways to balance roles with help from each other.
Brochu said the coaches adapt to meet students’ needs. If a player is having a hard day, a coach who may have a better rapport with the student will step in while the other coach leads the rest of the team.
The unified athletics program also leans on other groups at the school to create an inclusive environment, such as Best Buddies, an organization that helps people establish relationships with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“It’s been nice to see the wider acceptance of the program at our school, with more people coming to watch our games,” Thompson-Silbey said.
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
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