LAKELAND, Fla. — Raquel Gaspar and Stormy Stitz get together to play a little cornhole on “Friendship Fridays” at Tenoroc High in Lakeland.
Raquel is a blind student with special needs.
Stormy is a senior in the traditional program.
They do not get to hang out a lot during the week. But the inclusion program every Friday solves that problem in a big happy way.
“Stormy is like a sister to me,” says Raquel as her friend helps aim her cornhole bags.
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“Friendship Fridays” is a simple concept with a big payoff.
It was created by special education teacher Ashlyn Cobb. She says her students are often stuck in the same classroom all day.
“It’s hard to make friends,” Cobb says.
So students of all walks of life meet in Cobb’s classroom on Friday afternoons to play cornhole, Uno and Headbanz, the most popular game.
The program is a hit, especially with students like Raquel.
“It’s so much fun to be with everybody and play games!” Raquel says.
