By: Bill Beckner Jr.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 | 4:43 PM

Unified sports allow students with and without disabilities to compete in an inclusive environment.

Norwin has one of the top unified programs in the state with its track and field and indoor bocce teams, and the district has been recognized for its efforts.

Add Special Olympics Unified Champion Banner School as a new title for Norwin for its “commitment to inclusion in sports, academics, and extracurricular activities.”

Just eight other schools in Pennsylvania received the honor.

Schools with this distinction meet a number of standards that include conducting unified sports, which began at Norwin in 2016.

“We are incredibly proud of our Norwin High School students in the unified program and the staff members who work with them,” Norwin Superintendent Dr. Jeff Taylor said in a news release. “They have led the way to promote inclusion, and in doing so, have set a noteworthy example for others to follow.”

Norwin’s unified track and field, which competes in the spring, has been coached by Alyssa Rittenhouse and Jim Pepke.

Indoor bocce, added last winter, also is coached by Rittenhouse, while a number of Norwin personnel volunteer time to help the teams.

“Receiving this distinction as a Unified Champion School shows that Norwin has made inclusion a priority in all aspects of school,” Rittenhouse said. “Being a Unified Champion School means staff and students see our students with disabilities as strong, smart and talented, not as people who need to be helped, coddled or in separate activities.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Bill by email at bbeckner@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Norwin