Meaningful Inclusion Can Lead To Lasting Friendships #choosetoinclude - Odessa High School Students

As the recipient of Special Olympics Missouri's 2018 School of Character Award of Merit, Odessa High School values kindness and meaningful inclusion. The school with just over 600 students is in a rural community approximately 30 miles east of Kansas City. Following a year of using Character Strong resources in their student-led lessons in freshman classes, the school is in its first year of school-wide implementation of the Character Strong Advisory Curriculum. The school's student council is recognized as an Honor Council by the Missouri Association of Student Councils. The senior student council members featured on the podcast include President Keiton Johnson and Vice President Makenzie Lewis along with Tyler Hepworth and Lyndsey Roseler. Tyler and Lyndsey are a Special Olympics unified pair who recently represented Character Strong at the Inclusive Youth Leadership Summit held in Chicago. The school utilizes unified pairs to teach Character Strong lessons to freshman classes. The group is active on social media. Follow them @odessar7_stuco on Instagram and Twitter.