Sports Program Educates Kids in Diversity
Local Mainstreaming Sports Program
To Hold Grand Finale
"In the beginning, the students don’t expect to form a real connection to the developmentally disabled kids. They tend to objectify them and perceive them as the "Other." But by the end of a 20-minute basketball game, the two groups are high-fiving each other,"
Michelle Tabor, eighth grade History teacher at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, NY.
May 24, 1998
Like many teachers throughout the NY area, Tabor teaches her students tolerance through
the National Jewish Council for the Disabled (NJCD) Yachad Good Sports program, the only
existing athletic program that educates kids in diversity while mainstreaming the
developmentally disabled.
The program, which has nearly 200 handicapped and non-handicapped athletes play basketball, hockey, and other sports on a monthly basis, will hold its annual Grand Finale on Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., at the Edward R. Murrow High School, at 1600 Avenue L in Brooklyn. During the event, handicapped and non-handicapped players will receive trophies for their athletic participation and performance. In addition, players will spend 25-minute sessions playing hockey, basketball, volleyball, bowling, aerobics and other sports.
"We have lots of community service projects such as preparing packages for the homeless, but this is one of the few projects where there is real human interaction," says Tabor.
Launched in 1992, the unique sports program draws mainstream students from junior high schools and high schools throughout the NY metropolitan region. Geared for developmentally disabled Jewish athletes ages 9-35, the program is led by highly trained physical education instructors who specialize in adaptive recreation. Disabled players, who have mild to moderate disabilities, are grouped according to age and skill.
"Good Sports is one of the most popular community service programs in our school. Most of the students have never had contact with the developmentally disabled before. Good Sports gives them a close-up exposure to an entirely new population," said Lynne Hirschhorn, dean of the 8th graders at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, NY.
With over 30 chapters throughout the United States and Canada, NJCD, sponsored by the Orthodox Union, is the only national resource center providing state-of-the-art programs, information, guidance and referral services for those with special needs in the Jewish community. Yachad, a division of the NJCD, provides a unique range of social, recreational and religious interactive activities, serving the needs of nearly 1,000 developmentally disabled children and adults. All Yachad programs are mainstreamed, bringing individuals with developmental disabilities together with their non-handicapped peers, and serving the entire spectrum of the Jewish community.
The Orthodox Union, celebrating 100 years of service to the Jewish community of the United States and countries throughout the world, is a world leader in youth work, advocacy for the disabled, synagogue services, adult education and political action. Its kosher supervision label, the OU, is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 200,000 products in 56 countries around the globe.
