Local Educator Travels to USHMM

Rather than lounging by the pool all summer, many educators go back to school. Joy Jackson (far left in photo), an educator in Gladstone, Mo., tackled tough history. Jackson participated in an intensive Holocaust education program, called KC to DC, sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE). 

The highlight of KC to DC was a trip to tour the exhibitions at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. In addition, educators in the 2025 cohort engaged in two 3-hour learning sessions taught by the MCHE team and completed an intensive guided-study assignment. 

The goals of the KC to DC program are to increase educators’ historical knowledge, instructional skills, and connections to MCHE’s team and resources. Another goal is to foster supportive relationships among the teachers themselves. As Jackson returns to Oakhill Day School this year, she will be better able to implement effective and meaningful Holocaust lessons for her students.

Jackson said, “The KC to DC trip highlighted the importance of using primary and secondary sources about the past to examine current events and current thinking. I am grateful to experience this trip with such amazing local educators!”

KC to DC is funded through the generous support of Sam Devinki, whose parents were Holocaust survivors Fred and Maria Devinki. The program will offered again in 2027.

Visit the MCHE website at www.mchekc.org for more information about professional development for educators, programs for students, and programs for the community.

Laura Patton
Midwest Center for Holocaust Education
913-327-8236