Fox Lane Best Buddies Model Inclusion at Bedford Village Elementary

When Fox Lane High School’s Best Buddies club visits Bedford Village Elementary School, it’s a big deal. The older students visit Brian Dalton and Phil Ciccone’s physical education classes to model inclusion for their younger peers—and the elementary schoolers are ecstatic.

The club, which is student-run and aims to create friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, has visited Bedford Village Elementary a handful of times in the last few months. Each time, the objective is the same: play with the younger students and make sure everyone is included.

During this particular visit, students enjoyed beautiful weather out on the school’s back field. First, they played a game of Fish, Shark or Whale. Students had to gallop across the field and stay within the white lines while avoiding the octopi, which were played by Fox Lane ASPIRE (A Senior Program for Internships, Research, and Enrichment) interns with pool noodles. If they got tagged, they turned into seaweed and had to stand still, waving their arms around and trying to tag other students as they ran by.

Best Buddies got into the game, cheering for and encouraging each other and each of the elementary students—and providing help refocusing the younger students when they needed it.

“It’s fun to hang out with the younger kids and make sure everyone is included,” Joe said.

Mauricio agreed, saying, “School can be harder for some of these guys.”

“What we have at the high school is so special,” said Dani. “It’s even more special to foster these friendships at an earlier age.”

After a few rounds of the game, there was time for the Best Buddies and their younger friends to play on the playground.

One of the best parts of the interaction between the older and younger students was some of the conversations they had while just hanging out.

“The high school students are playing with us!” one girl whisper shouted to her friend.

“Jake, I’m staying with you,” an elementary schooler declared to a high schooler as they headed to the swings.

“Can I show you my cartwheel?” a chorus of elementary schoolers asked older students.

A Best Buddy playing tag with a group of younger students noticed a student standing off by himself. “What are you doing?” she asked, walking over to him. “Do you want to play tag with us?”

It was just one of many sweet moments when Fox Lane students modeled inclusion in a very visible way.

“If you help make everyone feel included now, it’s better for the future,” Best Buddy Liv said.