Perry’s special education program is supported with different groups like the Puma Pals or Unified Sports. These organizations aim to provide the students in the special education program with an opportunity to be more involved in school activities.

There is a new addition to that list of clubs. Senior Emily Narducci recently created the Unified Arts program.

Narducci is part of the Flower Girls, a branch off of the Chandler Service Club. As a member of the club, she was required to come up with a project that benefited her community.

Perry has had a successful Unified Sports team for four years now, but no program has been set up in the arts department. This inspired Narducci to come up with an idea that provided an equal opportunity for students that preferred the arts over sports.

“Something I enjoy doing is theatre, so I wanted to take that and help other students experience the same enjoyment I get,” Narducci said.

The Unified Arts program was established to give the students in special education a chance to get involved in the arts department. The program was created through efforts from both Perry theatre and the Puma Pals. The teacher that Narducci reached out to in the Puma Pals group is special education teacher Alexis Myers.

Myers commented, “We are the Unified Arts program’s Puma Pals contact. We are the mediator between the parents and the program.”

She makes sure the students and their parents are kept up to date on what the kids are doing in coordination with the Unified Arts program.

As of October 1, the students have been practicing in conjunction with Perry’s theatre department. They have been attending and participating in the drama club meetings in preparation for their performance.

“And then as part of our Senior Directed One Acts they are putting together different acts that they will be presenting in between all of the different one act performances. So they will have some songs, musical pieces, scenes, and many performances that they will do,” theatre teacher Shawna Marquis said.

Afterwards, a portion of the profits from the play will go towards the special education program. The proceeds can be used to purchase supplies that will further improve both the Unified Arts performances and the special education classes.

Perry is the first school in the district to implement a program like Unified Arts. While there are other schools with a Unified sports teams, Perry is setting a precedent for school inclusion of the students in special education into the arts.