Families and volunteers from Farragut and other parts of Knox County gathered at Farragut Primary School March 10 for an inclusive field day organized by UT’s Department of Therapeutic Recreation in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences.
Designed to combine elements of physical play and education for students and physical education teachers, the Farragut Fun-tastic Field Day was created by Angela Wozencroft, associate professor and program director for Camp Koinonia, an outdoor camp for youth with physical and developmental disabilities. She runs the event with the support of five graduate students and undergraduate students in her course on therapeutic recreation in public schools.
“I started the program after speaking with community providers for individuals with disabilities who expressed a need,” Wozencroft said. “The program’s objective is to reach students with disabilities while emphasizing inclusion for all.”
During their afternoon of activities with K–12 students, UT students and volunteers helped organize a range of activities including mini golf, dizzy bat, egg races, and many more.
In addition to physical activities, Wozencroft included educational programming for school physical education teachers.
“The intention is for these instructors to expand their knowledge on how to modify and adapt activities to meet the needs of students with disabilities in their classrooms,” Wozencroft said.
This is the third year that the department has offered an inclusive field day program and its first year collaborating with Farragut Primary School.
“We hope to continue to offer this program at FPS again,” Wozencroft said. “This program is open to all school-age youth in our community, and we hope to draw students from all of our local schools in the future.”
In addition to the inclusive field day and other projects, the therapeutic recreation department organizes Camp Koinonia and Camp Oginali for youth with physical and developmental disabilities. Wozencroft’s projects are supported by a grant from the Tennessee State Department of Education to serve the needs of young people with disabilities.
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CONTACT:
Brian Canever (865-974-0937, bcanever@utk.edu)
Jules Morris (865-719-7072, julesmo@utk.edu)