VIDEO: Unified Classes Build Connections at Clarence Schools

Clarence Central School District students are building relationships and lifelong skills through expanded unified class offerings, finding collaboration through building a drumbeat in a music class, completing passes on the football field and creating artwork that has brightened their school and the community. 
 
The classes, which bring together students with and without intellectual disabilities, started with a unified physical education class at Clarence Middle School in the 2023-24 school year. For the 2025-26 school year, the District added High School physical education and a music class as well as quarterly Middle School classes in subjects like art, business and family and consumer sciences. 
 
Jill Snuszka, Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services, said the goals for the expanded class offerings are creating positive peer relationships, developing empathy for others and building leadership skills for all students. The growing classes are in addition to a litany of inclusive opportunities in the District, including clubs and combined athletic teams, as well as participation in regional events like the Buffalo Polar Plunge fundraiser for Special Olympics New York.
 
“The support from students and staff has been phenomenal,” Snuszka said. “It really is just a testament to our community and what our learning community stands for, and that is inclusion, being supportive and really helping each student shine.”
 
Middle School physical education teacher Catherine Vandenburgh said the growth of the class offerings was exciting to see, given the benefits she’s seen for students since the first class two years ago. This school year, the class has enjoyed field trips to play frisbee golf, as well as pickleball at parks in the town. 
 
“They get to learn not just how to function in the school building but also how to take what they’ve learned and apply it into the community sense,” Vandenburgh said. “Not only do they learn how to work with each other, but they also create friendships that we’re seeing carry over outside of school.”
 
Multiple teachers shared how the unified classes have encouraged participating students to become leaders.
 
“They’re basically an extension of us,” said Beth Brawn, who teaches the High School physical education class with colleague Jeffrey Barrett. “Now they’re playing with their peers and everyone’s feeling that sense of belonging.”
 
In the Middle School art class, teacher Elizabeth Spielman said she was unsure of the response from students when the class was first offered, only to find a great deal of enthusiasm.
 
“They’re here because they want to be here,” Spielman said. 
 
She said she has seen how the class has helped students develop confidence and become more communicative through time spent with peers. Building on their lessons, the students have shared their work in the school and community, including a colorful tapestry near the school’s auditorium as well as a combined art project with residents of the Brothers of Mercy Wellness Campus.
 
Whether with a guitar, a drum or a piano, the excitement was as obvious as the growing sound as students warmed up at the start of the unified music class. Teacher Thomas Furminger said there were opportunities for all students to grow their understanding of music concepts.
 
“Anybody can be a musician,” he said.
 
Progressing through the year, the initial novelty of the course for students has been replaced with an appreciation for the opportunity to work together. 
 
“They don’t look at it as anything special,” Furminger said. “They are just classmates.”