Best Buddies Club Continues to Connect with Special Education Program At Home
Due to the nationwide school shutdown in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, all students must adapt to a new system of digital education from home. Peninsula’s Best Buddies club is one of the groups at school affected by the shutdown as it has had to find a new way to continue club gatherings. While on-campus schooling was still in session, this organization gathered twice a month as a group, and SPED students and their buddies, students who are part of the club, are expected to meet with each other outside of meetings.
“Best Buddies focuses on creating friendships between students with and without intellectual disabilities,” senior and Best Buddies Co-President Jordan Quick said. “Now that school has shut down, we must [find a way] for the Buddies to maintain their relationships.”
In order to continue operating, Best Buddies board members are suggesting that the Buddies keep in contact through FaceTiming, texting or calling each other. Club members such as junior Mia Yamada emphasize the need to prioritize members’ safety while also ensuring that the Buddies maintain a strong connection and relationship with each other.
“We have done our best to keep in touch with our Buddies, but keeping everyone safe and healthy is our main priority,” Yamada said. “For now, we have postponed a couple of events until the summer and hope that we may make up for lost time then by scheduling events for the summer.”
While Best Buddies has created a plan to keep operating during the shutdown, many club members are still troubled about not being able to spend time with their Buddies in person. Senior and Best Buddies Co-President Katie Burrill is one of them.
“Our club is very upset that we will not be able to continue making meaningful connections [during this time],” Burrill said. “However, we remain optimistic that we will meet again soon.”
Burrill and Quick both acknowledge that a transition back to school will be difficult since students will have adapted to online education, but they believe that Best Buddies is doing its best to make the transition easy.
The Best Buddies club hopes that they and all their Buddies will have a chance to meet again soon. Quick emphasizes that Best Buddies is doing the best they can to ensure that the Buddies will be receiving the social connection they need in times like these. Although the members of the club wish there were different circumstances, they believe they can maintain relationships with their Buddies.
