NEW for 2025-26 School Year:

All schools participating in Special Olympics Vermont Unified Champion Schools events, activities, and competitions are required to complete the following school agreement.

 

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools builds on Special Olympics' values, principles, practices, experiences and impacts to shape a generation that welcomes everyone.

Our Goal and Your Agreement: To Create Schools that Welcome All People

Special Olympics Vermont (SOVT) is excited that your school has taken the steps to begin to, or continue to, offer quality social inclusion through the Unified Champion Schools (UCS) initiative.
Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools aims to promote social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting school-wide change. With sports as the foundation and inspiration, the three-component model offers a unique combination of effective activities that equip youth with tools and training to create school and community climates of acceptance, where students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities feel welcome, are included in, and feel a part of all activities, functions, and opportunities.

Completing the below is your school’s commitment to inclusion, acceptance, and respect of all students through the implementation of Unified Champions Schools (UCS). Your students and teachers will make efforts to continually improve as an inclusive community for everyone, especially students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Students with and without IDD will be encouraged and empowered to lead the efforts to improve the climate at school, with teachers and administrative support.

About Unified Champion Schools^®

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® is a 3-component model that combines Unified Sports, Inclusive Youth Leadership and Whole School Engagement to create school and community climates of acceptance and inclusion.
The three components of Unified Champions School are:

1. Inclusive/Unified Sports/PE or Activities: Sports and/or PE, or other Unified Activities participation involving people with and without IDD training, playing, and/or competing on the same team or together in the same class.
   
2. Inclusive Youth Leadership: Newly formed clubs or existing school clubs which plan and implement inclusive, community-building activities and engage students with IDD as members and thought-leaders
   
3. Whole School Engagement: Campaigns, events, or activities to encourage acceptance, respect, and inclusion for all students. Example: Anti Bullying Campaign, Spread the Word Campaign, Special Olympics pep rallys
   

Getting Involved in Vermont

SOVT is here to support you and your school as you work towards building more inclusive, diverse and accepting school communities. UCS programs are flexible can be modeled to fit the needs of your school. To participate you must engage in at least one of the three components of the UCS model: 1) Unified Sports 2) Inclusive Youth Leadership 3) Whole School Engagement (click here for implementation ideas!)

Special Olympics Vermont will:

• provide a staff liaison to help with the implementation of the UCS program with on-site or virtual training, online resources, etc. and regular contact to provide support and assistance. 
• provide a stipend to each primary school liaison following the completion of mid-term and final reporting, and the completion of the end-of-year UMass National Liaison Survey.

Funding Opportunities

SOVT receives some grant funding through Special Olympics North America and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to support and accelerate the growth of Unified Champion Schools programs.

Vermont schools may apply for direct-to-school grant fund distribution by submitting both a proposed budget and project summary narrative. Awards are given only to schools kickstarting their programs or who are committed to supporting multiple components of the Unified Champion Schools program.

Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Funding is not guaranteed, but every effort will be made to support new and expanding programs, as well as established programs who have experienced budgetary changes.

UCS Program Resources

• Special Olympics Vermont
  
  • UCS Website
  • UCS Liaison Google Drive (Forms, etc)
  • Coach Education
  • VPA Interscholastic Unified Basketball
• Special Olympics North America/International
  • Generation Unified
  • Unified Champion Schools
  • Unified Classroom

There are four required elements to this School Agreement

1. Commitment to UCS Components
   • Identify 1 or 2 staff liaisons to help with the implementation of the Unified Champion Schools initiatives at your school
   • Indicate which of the required activation elements your school will commit to during the school year. (We strongly suggest choosing a minimum of one sport/activity and two youth leadership or whole school involvement activities (this includes continuing inclusive activities your school is already doing)
     
     
2. Communication, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement
   • Provide progress reports to SOVT on Unified Schools activities at least 2x per school-year (mid-term & final report surveys)
   • Complete required end-of-year UCS National Liaison Survey through UMass Boston
   • Support student leadership development to work toward meeting the criteria to be a three-component Unified Champion School
   • Ensure youth and adult coaches complete the free online NFHS Unified Sports Coaches training
   • Provide SOVT Unified Champion Schools staff with pictures/updates/highlights as available
   • Use the Special Olympics Unified Champion School logo on all printed materials, except sport uniforms which use the Unified Sports logo. (Contact SOVT: info@vtso.org for logos and design support)
     
     
3. Budget (and optional funding request) See below to complete. Please indicate which items are provided and/or paid from School/district/Booster Club funding and which you are requesting from SOVT.
   
   
4. Commitment and Certification
   School contact (program liaison) and School Administrator agree to the terms outlined and provide accurate information in the grant proposal.

1. Commitment to UCS Components. Please check all planned activities

2. Communication, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement

3. Budget and optional funding request

To receive funding through SOVT, expenses must be necessary (needed to achieve the project objectives), reasonable (a good rule of thumb is to keep UCS expenses in alignment with other sports/activities at school), and allocable (in direct relation to Unified Champion School activities). 

Examples of common ALLOWABLE / UNALLOWABLE costs include:

• Coach stipends
  • Allowable: stipend for the coach of a school-based Unified Soccer team
  • Unallowable: duplicative of payment provided by a school budget
• Facility rental
  • Allowable: cost of renting a soccer field for a competition/tournament
• Meals
  • Allowable: buying lunch for the HS Unified basketball team that is participating in a competition spanning that reasonable meal time. Meals are subject to GSA rates.
  • Unallowable: snacks or meals for times that fall outside of UCS competitions
• Officials Fees
  • Allowable: fees for officiating Interscholastic Basketball games at the specified sub-varsity rate as set by the VPA Unified Sports committee
• Uniforms
  • Allowable: bowling jerseys for school Unified bowling team, distributed and collected seasonally
  • Unallowable: purchasing clothing, uniform apparel, or other supplies/apparel for a team, athlete, or partner to own. Shoes are unallowable regardless of team or personal ownership.
• Supplies
  • Allowable: art supplies for a whole school awareness campaign
  • Unallowable: t-shirts/apparel (except for Spread the Word)
• Transportation
  • Allowable: paying for a bus rental fee for Unified interscholastic team to compete in a competition
  • Unallowable: reimbursing personal mileage for families, coaches, athletes or for travel not directly related to UCS programming

Budget Summary Narrative

4. Commitment and Certification

Unified Champion Schools^® Agreement
By signing, we agree to meet the requirements stated in this agreement to become a Special Olympics Vermont Unified Champion School and promote inclusion, acceptance and respect for all people.

We also understand end of year funding stipends for our schools, teacher liaisons, and Unified coaches, as well as future school year funding requests are dependent upon our participation and implementation of the requirements indicated above.