Eastern High School hosts field day for hundreds of students of all abilities

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - In an effort to create a more inclusive environment in schools, hundreds of JCPS students came together at Eastern High School for a field day Friday.

The goal is to create a blended day of fun and games for students of all abilities.

More than 200 students from six different JCPS schools, regardless of their differences, came together for just one purpose, to have fun.

The field day gave kids with physical or intellectual disabilities a chance to play with their fellow classmates.

“That’s kind of the concept. To get all of our kids to play on the same playing field,”Eastern High School Special Education Teacher Carol Bryar said. “And just providing a lot of fun, a lot of teamwork and a lot of friendship going on.”

Bryar said this inaugural event was planned and put together by students and is a day inspired by finding a way to make school more inclusive for everyone.

“We started talking about that and just trying to figure out another way that we can celebrate both Eastern while trying to inspire other high schools to do what we do here,” Bryar said.

Students were able to get temporary tattoos and play unified games like soccer, kickball, bocce and even tug of war.

All of this to create a fun environment for all involved.

“It’s a positive experience,” Bryar said. “Not just for our MSD students but it’s a positive experience for my peer tutors, for my partners, my unified partners. They always have a good time.”

Friday sparked moments of joy that Bryar hopes to bottle up and share for years to come.

“We would like to do this again next year,” Bryar said. “We planned for 400 kids, we got a little over 200. So we would like to see it at 400.”

When talking about her students with special needs, Bryar said that at the end of each school year students say “oh my gosh they’re just like me” and her response is always “oh my gosh, no kidding!”

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