No matter who the student or teacher is in the Shawnee Mission School District, they belong! Belonging is a strategy outlined in the district’s strategic plan, developed by our community, and across the district there are people working every day to ensure belonging for all.

David Westbrook, at-large member of the Shawnee Mission Board of Education, along with several Shawnee Mission students, helped us celebrate this work as part of the Read Across SMSD theme “End Exclusion.” The elementary featured book is “No More Chairs” by Dan Gill. This story is about a teacher who keeps an empty chair in his classroom. This action is inspired by an experience he had with his childhood friend who was left out. It is a reminder that everyone can play a role in stepping up, showing support, and letting people know they belong.

Westbrook shared that while it may not be noticeable to everyone, he cannot see.

“In my case, I can’t open my eyes at the end of the day and see what you can see, but I belong,” Westbrook shares. “I belong here because I want to learn, I want to teach, I want to be on the school board, and I want to be a part of the community. Whether you can see or not, whether you are black or white, a girl or boy, tall or short – it doesn’t matter – all of us belong. You belong here, I belong here, and that’s our theme.”

Westbrook was joined by several Shawnee Mission students who helped highlight their passion and work for helping people in their community know they belong, too. Eli, an eighth grader at Indian Hills Middle School, shared that one way to help end exclusion is to pay attention.

“I try to make sure nobody feels left out,” Eli added. “If I see someone who might feel left out, I think of a way to invite them to join me or join the group I’m in!”

Sometimes helping people know they belong happens in the little things we do every day, according to Tiffany, a SM Northwest junior.

“Whenever I can, I like to give people a fist bump, high five, or say hello in the hallways,” she added.

There have been times when Kia’i, an 8^th grader at Hocker Grove Middle School, has experienced individuals making fun of or avoiding saying her name.

“If you don’t know how to pronounce someone’s name, just ask them!” Kia’i advises. “Or you could also ask a friend. When people don’t pronounce my name right, I like to correct them. It made me feel included when I heard that my classmates jumped in to help someone who kept mispronouncing my name. It really made me happy to know that classmates who I didn’t even know that well stuck up for me!”

About Read Across SMSD

Read Across SMSD is modeled after the National Read Across America program and is led in partnership with NEA-Shawnee Mission and the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation. Access to books for Shawnee Mission students is made possible through the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation.

Click here for the Read Across SMSD webpage, featuring resources from previous years, archive videos, and more information about the program.

NEA Book List

Elementary No More Chairs by Dan Gill. Click here to learn more.

Middle Grade Malcom Lives! The Official Biography of Malcom X for Young Readers by Ibram X. Kendi. Click here to learn more.

Young Adult The Ballerina of Auschwitz by Dr. Edit Eva Eger. Click here to learn more.