Eighteen teachers from Missouri and Kansas devoted about 52 hours over their summer break to learn about the Holocaust.

These dedicated educators participated in the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education’s 2026 “KC to DC” program. The highlight of the experience was a private tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington, D.C. 

“Educators in the 2026 cohort engaged in 11 hours of classroom learning led by the MCHE team and completed an intensive guided self-study assignment on Holocaust history before ever setting foot in the museum,” participant John Collins said. “That preparation mattered. It meant that when I finally walked through the exhibits at USHMM and saw the artifacts and testimonies firsthand, I wasn’t encountering this history for the first time. I was seeing it in a new, deeper way… This experience truly changed the way I will teach this history... KC to DC gave me the vocabulary, the primary sources and the historical grounding to help my students see individuals, not just statistics.”

“Visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and learning from historians and educators brought history to life,” said Heather Yates, another 2026 participant. “It reinforced the importance of teaching students not only about the Holocaust, but also about the consequences of hatred, prejudice and indifference."

Time together in Washington was focused on learning at USHMM as well as forming collegial relationships among group members. Many of the 2026 KC to DC participants work in rural communities where they may be the only teacher addressing the Holocaust. One member of the 2026 group is the only social studies teacher for grades 7 through 12. Therefore, building a support network within the group is a primary goal of KC to DC. Teachers are invaluable resources and collegial support for each other – and crucially important for those who are young in their careers.

“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. It taps into important resources available through MCHE and 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 transfer this learning into their classrooms.”

KC to DC could not happen without the support of Sam Devinki, son of Holocaust survivors Fred and Maria Devinki, who is passionate about Holocaust education. While they were together in Washington, Devinki shared his family’s story with the KC to DC group. Several cited this as a highlight of their trip.

The 2026 KC to DC cohort represents schools in Coffeyville, Kansas; and Carl Junction, Carthage, Fulton, Golden City, Jamesport, Kirkwood, Lee’s Summit, Mountain View, North Kansas City, Raytown, Rolla, Springfield, St. Joseph, and West Plains, Missouri. Ten of the 18 attendees are early career educators. Six members of the group teach middle school, 10 teach high school, and two teach both.  

KC to DC will be on hiatus during 2027 and 2028 while USHMM renovates its permanent exhibition. MCHE will re-launch the program in 2029 when the exhibition reopens to the public. In the meantime, MCHE continues to offer a variety of programs for educators to engage with this history, deepening their own knowledge and skills at teaching it. Information about programs is available at mchekc.org, along with student and teacher resources for Holocaust education.