Londonderry High School Named A Unified Champion School
Fifth School In New Hampshire To Receive Honor
Londonderry, NH (September 3, 2020) – The Granite State now has five high schools that have achieved National Banner Unified Champion School® status. This banner recognition for a school signifies that the school has demonstrated a commitment to inclusion by meeting 10 standards of excellence that were developed by a national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community. While nearly 70 schools in the Granite State have a Unified Sports® program, the home of Lancer Nation is just the fifth New Hampshire school to achieve banner recognition status. The others are Alvirne High School, Dover High School, Gilford High School and Epping High School which received banner recognition last year.
Ashley Tebbetts is a Health and Physical Education Teacher at LHS as well as the Unified Soccer coach. She works alongside Ann MacLean who is also a Health and PE Teacher as well as an Interactive Physical Education teacher and the coach of the Unified Basketball and Track teams.
“At LHS, more than 100 student athletes are involved in Unified throughout the school year. The Unified teams at LHS have been successful both athletically and socially” according to Tebbetts. Indeed, the LHS Unified Soccer Team wrapped up the 2019 season as NHIAA State Champions while the Unified Basketball Team scored Runner-up honors for the 2020 season from the NHIAA. The Unified Track Team has won the State Championship the past 7 years.
Ann Maclean notes that the Unified Program goes beyond sports. “We offer a variety of interactive classes that promote an inclusive environment where students and support students can thrive and establish the skills necessary to be become independent, successful, and lifelong learners. The Unified program at LHS is built on the philosophy of being a family where we support one another.”
Special Olympics New Hampshire Director of Schools Pete Cofran remarked “SONH is proud of the dedication the staff and students of Londonderry High School have made to strengthen the inclusion of all students into their high school community. To be only the 5th New Hampshire high school to reach this important national recognition is a credit to the entire Lancer community.”
In addition to the Unified roster, Londonderry High School fielded a team in the 2020 High School Penguin Plunge held last February at Hampton Beach. The 21 LHS plungers raised more than $4500.00 for Special Olympics New Hampshire programs.
About Special Olympics New Hampshire
Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH) is an accredited program of Special Olympics International (SOI) and is part of an international global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance.
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Contact: Mark Ericson
603-498-5186
MarkE@sonh.org