Schools
Madison Middle School Student Wins Prestigious Award
Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice said this about Grace: "This is a remarkable achievement!!"
By Jack Kramer
MADISON, CT – Out of the hundreds of middle and high school students involved with the Unified Theater program across Connecticut, an 8th grader at the Polson School won the prestigious 2017 Inclusion Specialist Award.
The winner of the award was Grace Hartmann.
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Unified Theater is a program that originated in West Hartford, according to Polson Unified Theater coordinator Dawn Perrotti. According to Perrotti it is a program that has “grown by leaps and bounds” and now stretches into states such as Rhode Island and even California.
“What make UT unique is that the kids do it all,” Perrotti said. “They plan the production; write the script- plan the set design etc. There are no auditions so everyone has the part they want. And all kids are equal. There are no ‘helpers’. It is a true inclusion model.”
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About Grace, Perrotti said: “Grace’s natural ability to work with all kids and her involvement with students with special needs outside of school and Unified Theater helped her earn this honor; she will receive an award at the annual banquet this Friday.”
Perrotti added: “Grace is one of the many fabulous kids involved. She is an 8th grader here at Polson and has been a student leader for the past two years; Grace stands out however, in her ability to connect to all the other students.
“She doesn’t see a ‘disability’ or a ‘special need’. She talks to each kid as a peer, not as someone she needs to help. This brings out each student’s strength. Grace is one of our ‘go to ‘kids when we need help with other students. Additionally, Grace is an active participant in Special Olympics and was named as coach this past year.”
Grace was humble when she was asked about her feelings about winning the award, but she did say: “Unified Theater is a great time for all the kids to be included. I like that we write our own play and everyone gets to participate. Everyone helps each other.”
Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice said this about Grace: “This is a remarkable achievement!!”
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