STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Crayton Eighth-Grade Students Jazayah Grimes and Gray Cobia Form Friendship Through Special Olympics Program

Special education students can sometimes struggle to fit in alongside their regular education peers. Crayton Middle School’s Special Olympics Unified program works to bring special education and regular education students together and give special education students a sense of belonging.

Eighth-grade student Jazayah Grimes is deaf. He loves to play soccer and his favorite subject in school is physical education.

“I love physical education because I get to play,” said Jazayah, who has been part of the Unified program for three years.

Through the program, Jazayah has been able to play soccer with other students and learn how to play new sports, like pickleball.

“I like the Unified program because I get to hang out with my peers. I’ve made a lot of friends,” he said.

Special education students in the Unified program are referred to as athletes, while regular education students are referred to as partners.

Jazayah met his partner, eighth-grade student Gray Cobia, when they were both in sixth grade. The two met through the Unified physical education class offered at Crayton through the program, which gives athletes and partners the opportunity get to know each other better while playing different sports.

“Jazayah was always smiling and always happy. He’d always come from art class, and he’d have something new and fun from art that he made. We instantly clicked,” Gray said.

She says she always makes sure Jazayah feels included in class projects, physical education activities and group chats with other athletes and partners.

“I always ask him to be my partner. If he doesn’t want to be in a group, he’s at least getting help from someone,” Gray said. “It makes me feel good to know that the special education students are included and that they’re not getting made fun of. They can feel safe and welcome here.”

Crayton special education teacher Ross Stewart, who is the Unified program advisor, has seen firsthand what Jazayah and Gray’s relationship is like.

“Their relationship is not ‘athlete and partner.’ Jazayah and Gray are friends, and that’s the way it should be,” said Stewart. “They care about each other. They take care of each other. If Gray sees someone who’s doing something that doesn’t look right, whether it’s Jazayah or not, she’ll say something. Jazayah knows that he has a friend.”

Gray knows that some regular education students may not know how to communicate with special education students. She says once partners get to know the athletes, the bond will grow.

“Over time, you’ll get used to knowing how to talk to the athletes and how they are better at communicating. You’ll get closer and have a better relationship with them,” Gray said.

Jazayah says he wants people to know that he’s helpful, especially with his family.

“I help my brother clean the house,” he said.

Gray has also seen how helpful Jazayah can be, especially during class projects.

“Jazayah is very good with computers. When we’re doing projects and I don’t know how to do something, he’ll pop it up super easily and I’m like, ‘How do you know how to do that?’,” she said.

Next year, Jazayah and Gray will be in high school, which can sometimes be a scary transition. Stewart says the Unified program has helped Jazayah not feel alone, and she says he won’t feel alone at his new school.

“The transition will make things a little bit less daunting because he will have a crew around him,” said Stewart.

Both students say they’re excited for high school next year.

“I’m excited to make new friends in high school,” Jazayah said.

“I’m excited to keep being friends with Jazayah, watch him grow and make more friends,” Gray said.

While high school graduation may still be five years away, the two already have an idea about what they want to do in the future.

Gray says her time in the Unified program has influenced her to pursue a career working with special education students.

“The feeling of helping them and becoming friends with them feels really good,” she said.

As for Jazayah’s career goal, “I want to be a firefighter because they use water to put out the fire and they help people,” he said.