KASSON, Minn.-Dozens of special education students took park in "ZED Activity Day" today at Kasson-Mantorville High School. It's essentially a track and field day.
“It’s wonderful just to see their faces cuz sometimes it’s a challenging-the school year’s challenging for these kids and to have this event and also to crystallize a lot of their skills they’ve learned, right? We’re in a different environment. We’re not in a classroom and we’re actually helping them get more independent," Patrick Gordon, the executive director of the Zumbro Education District, said.
“I wanted to be a part of it so that I could cheer on my students and see them just race with other students from other schools and just have a great time out here at 'ZED Activity Day,'" Chelsey Tschann, a teacher for Kasson-Mantorville Elementary School, said.
“My son Archer, who is au-au-nonverbal autistic, and, you know, he doesn’t-he doesn’t participate the same way that a typical kid does, so getting him in an environment like this where he can kind of have a day about them is-is really exciting, and the support from the communities is unbelievable," Nick Worden, a parent, said.
“At 'ZED Activity Day,' we have students of all sorts of different abilities, and “ZED Activity Day” just kind of helps these types of students to be able to see that they can do lots of different activities and sports that their peers are able to do," Tschann said.
“The stereotypical athlete is just someone that’s, you know, competing in-in matches and organized sports, and when you get the kids like this to have an opportunity to-to be with kind of their like-minded individuals and some of their own skill sets, I-it’s-it’s a really neat opportunity," Worden said.
“A lot of their peers will be in the stands, and it’s usually the other way around, and their classmates will be cheering for these kids when they’re running and participating, and I think they do feel like an athlete. I think they do feel like a more part of the fabric of their school and their communities," Gordon said.
The next "ZED Activity Day" is planned for next year on May 10th in Hayfield.
