They’re all winners in this race

Paula Pisani

It’s not about who wins: It’s about the victory of accomplishment and the

good feeling that comes from helping others.

That’s how coordinators of Village View Elementary School’s version of

Special Olympics describe the event.

The Huntington Beach school hosted Wednesday’s program for its special

education students, along with those from Circle View and Lake View

elementary schools.Former special education teacher Ann Carr started the

event at Circle View in 1989. Special education teacher Sandy Selby has

continued the tradition at Village View.

Each year, the event has become more extravagant, Selby said.

“When we first started, kids didn’t get medals or T-shirts,” she said.

“Now they get very professional-looking medals and T-shirts that say

‘Village View Special Olympics.”’

At Village View, students who don’t have disabilities have been busy

sponsoring participants, acting as buddies by encouraging them and

creating banners for them, said Cecile Maurice, one of the school’s

special education teachers.

About 40 students from the three schools will participate in the running

and walking course.

Eighteen of the 19 students from Village View, who range in age from 3 to

14, use wheelchairs, Maurice said. Students from the other two schools

have a higher degree of cognitive, social and independent functioning,

she said, although the disabilities “run the gamut.”

“It’s not so much about the competition and who wins, as it is the

participation,” Maurice said.

For some of the severely disabled children, this event could mark the

last time they will ever be able to walk again. For some, it could be the

last year they are alive, she said.

But there is an upside.

“What’s really neat is to see their buddies sponsor and adopt them and

cheer them on,” Maurice said. “What I see happening is kids about the

same ages looking at kids with disabilities as children first and

children with disabilities next. They don’t see the differences as much.

That’s what’s really neat, is to see how they support them.”

Years ago, Selby would talk to each classroom about the event and the

opportunity to sponsor a special education students, and she would hope

none of the regular education students would say something derogatory.

“I always wondered if someone would say something negative about the

child,” she said. “They never did. They were always thrilled.”

Now students in regular education look forward to the event each year, as

do the teachers.

“The first year I did this, several teachers came up to me and were

crying,” Selby recalled. “They’d never seen anything quite like it. The

expressions on the special education kids’ faces is just wonderful.”