TJ’s Best Buddy Club opens doors for students with disabilities

By Eric Seiverling

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

Thanks to a new program at Thomas Jefferson High School, students with physical and social disabilities can now feel at home at Jaguar football games, attend school dances and enjoy friendships that may have eluded them in the past.

After its kick-off party earlier this month, the school’s Best Buddy Club has now firmly taken hold in the West Jefferson Hills School District, and if the size of the club’s meetings are any indication, the club is a resounding success.

Despite being only a month old, the club now boasts 40 student members, who spend their time with classmates who might not otherwise get the chance to enjoy high school activities.

The club pairs students with schoolmates, many of whom have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The newly friended duos can be found sitting together at lunch, attending school dances, sporting events, musical and theatrical performances, cheering together at football games and taking part in a “Friendsgiving” party.

“Kids today aren’t as social as they used to be,” said Mike Rose, the school’s health and physical education teacher and a sponsor of the club. “They’re involved in technology and their phones, so they don’t find their groups or their niche in life. It’s nice to have a club like this.”

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