At Hamilton High School, Unified PE is about much more than getting stronger, learning a new sport or completing a workout. It’s about creating a place where every student belongs.

“It’s about getting to be belonging in class and get better at stuff,” said Anna, a ninth-grade student-athlete in the class.

Fellow ninth-grade athlete Michael puts it even more simply.

“I love Unified PE,” he said.

Unified PE has been part of the Hamilton High School experience for several years, pairing students with and without disabilities to participate alongside one another in physical education. This year, there is a new face leading the class in first-year teacher Mrs. Addison Hoekstra.

“Unified PE is a PE class with peers. We call them peers and athletes,” Hoekstra explained. “Students with disabilities come in and they pair up with another partner, and they work together in various things like the weight room. We do body weight stuff. We do games. We do some running. We do some conditioning things. It’s just a good opportunity for all students to come together and work toward the common goal.”

For Anna, every class can be a new adventure.

“Unified PE is where you learn to get strong, and it’s kind of like an adventure of having to learn,” she said.

But some of the most important things being built in the class can't be measured by a stopwatch or the amount of weight lifted.

“You have a relationship with really everyone,” said Korie, a 10th-grade student peer in the class. “It’s like a big family.”

Anna agrees. She considers Korie and fellow student Olivia two of her best friends.

“We have a great relationship with each other,” Anna said.

Those connections are exactly what Hoekstra has enjoyed watching develop.

“You see relationships you didn’t think would form,” Hoekstra said. “They work together, and they just have a lot of fun.”

For Korie, the Unified experience began before high school. She participated in Unified basketball in eighth grade and enjoyed the experience so much that it led her to sign up for Unified PE.

“It is so much fun,” Korie said of the class. “It’s a great start to my day. It makes me energized and really excited to start my day.”

More Than One Class

Unified PE is just one piece of a growing focus on Unified opportunities and belonging throughout Hamilton Community Schools.

Hamilton offers Unified Art at the middle school, LINKS peer-to-peer programming at the high school, Unified basketball at both the middle and high school levels and Unified Track & Field at the high school. Hamilton was also among the first schools in Michigan to pilot Unified Track & Field in the spring of 2026.

Together, the programs provide students with different ways to participate, compete, create, build friendships and experience what it means to belong.

That commitment is also part of Hamilton High School's identity as a proud Special Olympics Michigan Unified Champion School.

For Hoekstra, who is in her first year of teaching, Unified PE has already provided a powerful introduction to the Hamilton community.

“Just so far, it’s the community and just how people come together, work toward a common goal and really how Hamilton prepares all students,” Hoekstra said. “No matter their ability, no matter what situation of life, they prepare them for the future.”

And in Unified PE, preparing for that future happens together.