Sedona-Oak Creek School District physical education teacher Sean Eicher’s typical day at work involves getting to campus at 7:45 a.m., teaching four classes of high school and one big class of middle school followed by afternoon programs for sports.

Currently, middle school flag football keeps him busy, but in the spring he will be focused on coaching the varsity track and field program. However, on Saturday, Nov. 18, he will be stepping out of his comfort zone by going “Over the Edge” of the CityScape building in downtown Phoenix and rappelling down 27 stories as part of the Special Olympics of Arizona’s annual fundraiser.

“Over the Edge was created to have it where people without disabilities and even people with disabilities can be more on a level playing field in doing something that is not something we naturally do every day,” SOCSD Special Education teacher Tiffany Wilson said. “It’s challenging and it embodies the struggle that my students face every day … For most people, going about your day is not that challenging … [Over the Edge] gives each of them a different sense of putting them more on the similar playing field that my students experience every day.”

“Why throw myself over a building?” Eicher said about his first time doing the event. “To say I did it, to get it marked off my bucket list. I like doing things that are thrilling, so things that are gonna give me a challenge. I’ve done bungee jumping in Costa Rica, but going to do this to benefit our kids to rappel down a building is pretty special because it’s always been a goal of mine to do something like that.”

He added that he grew out of his fear of heights after high school, when he began enjoying endurance sports, and that going skydiving is also one of his short-term goals.

“When I talked to people that go skydiving or bungee jumping and have done more things than I have, they said bungee jumping is the hardest because you have to go out there on your own,” Eicher said. “Where [unlike] skydiving until you do a certain amount, you have to be hooked in with a professional. So bungee jumping, I just literally had to jump over myself and then just trust.”

The funds raised will go towards the Special Olympics of Arizona’s general fund, which is used in part to help athletes get to competitions and to sponsor teams, which the organization often refers to as delegations. Wilson also serves as the head of delegation for the district and is working to expand its offerings to include bowling.

“We’re going to be starting training for that this week,” Wilson said. “My team is a unified team. So we have athletes with disabilities and then we have partners who are not disabled.”

“I am all about giving everyone a chance to get involved with some kind of passion,” Eicher said. “Luckily for our kids in Special Olympics, sometimes they are not able to perform one task, such as maybe being able to run, but they get another challenge. [One of my students], for example, gets to compete in a different way where he gets to do shotput out of a wheelchair, but see how far he can throw it just like every other person … Their situations are just a little different, but they still [have] competitive side of them. Everyone likes to be noticed, everyone likes to be a winner, if possible.”

Eicher met his fundraising goal of $1,000 on Friday, Oct. 20, but people can continue to donate at classy.org/fundraiser/5021447