Huntley School District celebrates inclusion of those with disabilities

About a couple hundred Huntley Community School District 158 students, parents and community members gathered at Marlowe Middle School Saturday to celebrate inclusion of those with disabilities.

Saturday’s event, “Celebrating Individuals with Disabilities & Inclusivity,” is part of the school district’s Recognizing American Diversity, or RAD, program. While much of the program is based out of Huntley High School, event organizers said they are working to expand the program to include younger students.

The program started two years ago, said Shaina Pocztowski, one of the event organizers and the chair of the high school’s English department. She said the program originally began with a committee without students, but students began getting involved last year. Pocztowski said about 70 students are involved with the program.

Pocztowski said the RAD program hosts a monthly event to highlight and celebrate underrepresented groups and has a monthly calendar with different articles, podcasts and other ways people can learn about a different historically underrepresented group each month, often coinciding with a national celebration of that group.

September’s event celebrated the Hispanic community during Hispanic Heritage Month, and November’s event will celebrate Indigenous Americans during Native American Heritage Month.

“Our months are aligned with national months of recognition,” Pocztowski said.

The Huntley community has largely been supportive of RAD, and Pocztowski said the community has given “a lot of positive feedback.”

Pocztowski added that RAD events have become more well-attended over time.

“Every month it seems like our attendance grows.”

Bree Bogucki, a paraprofessional at Huntley High School, shared her experiences about having autism and her involvement with the Special Olympics during Saturday’s event.

Bogucki ran track and cross country at Harper College in Palatine before transferring to Tennessee Wesleyan University to complete her collegiate career.

Over the years, Bogucki also has been involved with other aspects of Special Olympics and said she speaks to audiences about her Special Olympics experiences.

During her talk Saturday, she said she has done projects with Coca-Cola and appeared on ESPN, among other things, through her involvement with Special Olympics.

“It’s important to give those with disabilities a chance,” Bogucki said.

The event also featured a performance from the Kingpins, an ensemble of the Crystal Lake Strikers drummer group that seeks to create a group for those with special needs.

“Seeing them and the joy they have while performing is fuel for us,” director Angela Krambeer said.