School Spotlight: Park Center Students Learn Inclusivity While Cooking

At Park Center High School students learn to cook with others of different abilities as part of an Osseo District Unified Schools program family consumer science class.

The Unified movement originated with the Special Olympics, and now Park Center offers Unified programs in physical education, art, and family and consumer science.

“Everyone gets an opportunity to experience inclusivity,” said Georgia Johnny, an 11th-grader at Park Center. “It’s a class where everyone is featured.”

“When I think about the Unified movement, I see it starting in the school but as the students leave school and they graduate, for that culture of inclusion to carry with them wherever they find their job, in their families, and in their communities,” added Cara Perszyck, a special education teacher at Park Center.

To continue growing the movement at Park Center, the high school plans to add Unified music classes next year.