The Special Olympics Unified Schools program at Maui High School in Hawaii creates inclusive leadership opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities.
Produced by Logan Tsukiyama, Hannah Okamoto, Shyla Orquia and Micayla Ban at Maui High School in Hawaii. Instruction provided by SRL Connected Educator Clint Gima. Mentorship provided by SRL editor Victor Fernandez. Station support provided by PBS Hawaii.
Meet the Producers
By Logan Tsukiyama, 9th grade
My group and I wanted to pursue this specific story because we felt that it shed light on an issue that wasn’t often talked about: the lack of inclusion opportunities for students with disabilities.
The story presented multiple challenges, like gaining Britney, our main character’s trust. Because she identifies as a special needs student, it took a little longer for her to get comfortable to a point where she felt safe opening up to us to share a deeper side of her story.
In the end, our patience and efforts were well rewarded with knowing that we were able to share an inspiring story that might not have otherwise been told. Along the way, we were fortunate to have Victor Fernandez, our SRL program manager, and Clint Gima, our advisor, to give helpful feedback and guidance throughout the process. Their insight into character development, camera composition, and even basic color correction provided valuable opportunities for us to grow, learn and improve.
When looking back at the process and seeing the completed story, I feel very fortunate and humbled to have been given this opportunity, and I hope this story reaches teachers, advisors and students across the nation and inspires them to start inclusion programs in their own schools and communities.