VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A junior at Cox High School took action for her fellow students with disabilities.
Kaitlyn Piston wants to be a special education teacher.
"Working with special ed has always been a passion of mine," said Piston.
She’s part of the group Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow.
She’s engaged in a contest right now and has attended various leadership programs.
As part of a project, she has decided to create a leadership workshop for kids with disabilities.
Friday, News 3 was there as they were as were setting up.
Twenty-five special needs kids will be teamed up with students from Cox High School Saturday morning.
It's the first program of its kind, called "Buddies Helping Buddies."
"Kids with Down syndrome to autism to different disorders are all coming together to buddy up and just have a day of great fun," said Jennifer Nardelli, coordinator for the VTFT program and English teacher at Cox High School.
Nardelli was impressed by Piston, who came to her with the idea of creating a leadership workshop specifically for kids with special needs.
"The way she’s leading this group of high school students and the I.D. (intellectually disabled) kids, it’s just amazing to me. She will be an awesome teacher," said Nardelli.
"Special ed kids are just like everyone else. They have a lot of energy. They are full of life and they should be included in things like this," said Piston.
The event takes place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday morning.
