Valentine’s Day is often associated with loved ones, whether they are romantic partners, family, or even friends. This year, the Best Buddies club at Bellaire High School decided to celebrate the occasion by sharing their love with some good friends in the special education classroom.
On the day of the Valentine’s party, members of the club known as “Buddies,” met with special needs students to make bracelets, share brownies, and socialize. For some of these students, like Anayely Sosa, this get-together is one of their favorite events of the year.
Best Buddies is an international organization committed to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Similar to many other Best Buddies chapters around the world, the one at Bellaire strives to encourage inclusion on campus by fostering close relationships between typical and special needs students. The club gathers multiple times a month for group activities, including the Valentine’s Day social, karaoke meetings, and birthday parties. Peter Eraham, another student in the special education track, notes that his favorite event is the Halloween party, where he enjoys pumpkin painting along with the Buddies. Yet despite the variety of events held throughout the year, each one has the same purpose: to promote and applaud student diversity.
Mr. Charles Sanders, the advisor of the Best Buddies chapter, has been delivering instruction to the special education class at Bellaire for 20 years. When asked what about the students he teaches motivates him to come to work every school day, he pointed to the flourishing he observes in their lives “years after” they graduate.
“I still keep in contact with students I used to teach or mentor,” he stated. “And what really inspires me is the growth that I see in them in the real world. We have students who work at the Zoo, students who work at Target. I really enjoy seeing that.”
Mr. Sanders has also been a witness of the major impact Best Buddies has made on all the students involved.
“They love it,” he explained. “The students in the general education population get a chance to mingle with those in the special needs program. They see what joy it brings to these young people, and it seems to carry them on to bigger and better things in life.” As a matter of fact, he mentioned, last year’s Best Buddies president is majoring in special education at UT.
By bringing together high schoolers with and without special needs, Best Buddies isn’t simply forging meaningful friendships – it’s uplifting the entire Bellaire community.
“I love it. I love what I do,” Mr. Sanders said. “I think Best Buddies is awesome.”
