Bookman Road Elementary School earns national recognition for inclusion

October 15, 2019

Bookman Road Elementary School has been named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School.

The media is invited to the banner presentation by Special Olympics South Carolina on Tuesday, October 15 at 8:30 a.m. Bookman Road is located at 1245 Bookman Rd in Elgin.

The school will also be included on a list of other schools around the country that have achieved this distinguished status. It’s receiving this national banner recognition for efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without disabilities. Lake Carolina also met national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy and respect.

Bookman Road is among a select number of schools across the country to receive this distinction including Lake Carolina Elementary Lower which was recognized as an Olympics Unified Champion School at a ceremony last week.

“Diversity and inclusion are among our principal practices in Richland Two,” said Superintendent Dr. Baron R. Davis. “We are proud of the work Bookman Road has done to ensure all students are able to participate meaningfully in activities.”

More than 300 schools are currently participating in Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools programming in South Carolina, as part of more than 6,500 schools across the country engaged in the program. Special Olympics has a global goal of creating 10,000 Unified Champion Schools by 2020. The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® model is supported by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. Learn more at specialolympics.org.