The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) recently facilitated a trip to Washington, D.C., to provide Holocaust education for 12 local teachers.
The KC to DC trip culminated in a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).
Before traveling, the 12 teachers, all from Missouri or Kansas, engaged in four hours of learning facilitated by MCHE’s historian, Dr. Shelly Cline. They also completed a rigorous guided-study assignment. After returning from Washington, the educators returned for four more hours of learning. During the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year, they will complete a variety of follow-up activities.
The opportunities of KC to DC are funded by Sam Devinki, a Kansas Citian and son of Holocaust survivors who is passionate about Holocaust education. While they were in Washington, Devinki shared his mother’s story with the KC to DC group. Several cited this as a highlight of their trip.
“I’ve used USHMM resources in my classroom before, but seeing the museum and memorial in person was very impactful,” said Kelcey Willis, a teacher from King City, Missouri. “Hearing Mr. Devinki’s family testimony and building relationships with other educators from Missouri and Kansas made this experience invaluable.”
“Supporting classroom educators has always been a top priority for MCHE,” said Jessica Rockhold, executive director of MCHE. “This program allows us to provide intensive education and resources before and after the travel experience, taps into important resources available through USHMM and provides a bonding experience for the educators involved. In addition to being able to come back to the MCHE team, they become a professional support network for each other as they translate this learning into their classrooms.”
The 2025 KC to DC cohort represents schools in Shawnee, Overland Park and Wichita, Kansas; and Avilla, Centerview, Columbia, Deepwater, Gladstone, Harrisburg, King City, Raytown and St. Joseph, Missouri. Six of the 12 educators have taught nine years or fewer; six have 10 years of experience or more. Five members of the group teach middle school; five teach high school, and two teach both.
Many of the 2025 KC to DC participants work in small communities where they may be the only teacher addressing the Holocaust. Therefore, building a support network within the group was one of MCHE’s goals.
According to MCHE’s program associate, Laura Patton, this group bonded. Prior to departing for DC, they created a group chat. They used the chat throughout the trip to meet for meals, schedule sightseeing and coordinate trips on the Metro. The group is still using the chat to plan both social and professional activities. Patton looks forward to connecting with the 2025 cohort throughout the upcoming school year.
“The KC to DC trip highlighted the importance of using primary and secondary sources about the past to examine current events and current thinking,” Joy Jackson of Gladstone said. “I am grateful to experience this trip with such amazing local educators.”
Another KC to DC cohort is planned for 2026. Information about this and other MCHE programs is available at mchekc.org along with student and teacher resources for Holocaust education.
