At Valencia High School, Circle of Friends strives to help students achieve the goal of every high schooler: making friends.
Circle of Friends promotes the acceptance of students with disabilities among the general population of students, forming lasting friendships and reduced bullying. First established 13 years ago in Santa Monica, it soon opened over 90 chapters on campuses across the country with a message of positivity and inclusion.
The club has become a positive experience for many Valencia High students.
Club president Eric Huff, a senior, stated, “I feel proud that I can look around campus and see a special needs student laughing and hanging out with a group of general education kids who see [them as] no different than themselves.”
Circle of Friends mainly involves interactive activities. Several students become friends with one disabled student, and take their time during lunch to socialize with one another. These groups bond over a period of one year, when friends may choose to be reassigned or stay together for the rest of their involvement with Circle of Friends.
Besides these weekly activities, Circle of Friends also hosts fundraisers and special ceremonies in celebration of the friendships that are formed.
“We continually have fundraisers in the community and parties on campus. For this banquet we are focusing on the graduating seniors and will have speeches, video montages and awards commemorating them,” says Huff.
With the club’s mission centered around the positive relationships between students with disabilities and students who are part of general education, the friendships that are established can often become new social experiences.
Huff states, “the people you meet are some of the most genuine friends and students [and] are more similar to yourself than you may think.”
