Local Educator Travels to USHMM

Khrystel Ehlers, an educator in El Dorado Springs, MO, tackled tough history this summer. Mrs. Ehlers 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. Educators in the 2026 cohort engaged in eleven hours of virtual classroom learning taught by the MCHE team and completed an intensive guided self-study assignment on Holocaust history.

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.

“The KC to DC program sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in Kansas City chose 18 Missouri/Kansas educators this year. I was incredibly honored to be one of those teachers selected! The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was so impactful to my own understanding of this history, being able to see artifacts that I teach about in person, there is just something so profound about it. Or being able to smell the leather from the pile of shoes that so many have seen the pictures of, only then really realizing that these people were just ready for another day unaware of their fate. This trip had such a large impact on how I will teach  this information to others in the future, approaching it with empathy, compassion, and honesty. ” Mrs. Ehlers

KC to DC is funded through the generous support of Sam Devinki, whose parents were Holocaust survivors Fred and Maria Devinki. The program will be on hiatus while USHMM renovates its permanent exhibition during 2027 and 2028. KC to DC will restart in 2029.

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