Mayo High School hosts polar plunge to support Special Olympics Minnesota, Unified programs
Mar. 16—ROCHESTER — Students, faculty and law enforcement gathered outside Mayo High School on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, to dive for a cause.
The high school hosted a Polar Plunge as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics Minnesota and as a way to educate those in attendance about Rochester Public Schools' Unified programs. The programs are aimed to help build relationships and remove barriers between general education and special education students.
Mayo High School currently offers two Unified classes in art and physical education.
Unified P.E. teacher Andrea Bacon, dressed in her family's signature bacon costume, was one of those who climbed the stairs to plunge into the mobile pool outside of the school.
"I love it. It's just the most spotlighted and inclusive environment," Bacon said of the polar plunge. "I feel like so often the special education kids are sitting by themselves in the cafeteria and there's just a big separation and we really just want to bring them together and just celebrate everyone's unique needs and all differences."
For English teacher Dan Parker, he can't help but think of how "awesome" it was, as he was drying off, to watch students and staff come together to plunge Wednesday afternoon.
"We look at us as a unified school and we really pride ourselves on being a unified school," Parker said. "And those things have been really growing with a great investment in student and staff supporting that and to see people come out together today to do the plunge is a pillar moment in all that and shows we are a unified school."
Mayo senior Spencer Pearson said he saw the school spirit in his fellow students as they filed up the stairs one by one to dive into the roughly four-foot pool.
"It's great, shows good school spirit and a good attitude that people can come together for a good cause," he said.
To donate to the Mobile Polar Plunge and Unified programming at Rochester Public Schools, visit
. To donate specifically to the general Unified fund, people should search for plunge participant "Unified Spartans" on the donate page.
