Students at Ballyshannon Middle School in Boone County will lead their peers through an interactive exhibit about Anne Frank and the broader history of the Holocaust later this month.
Dubbed Anne Frank, A History for Today, the exhibit is coming to the school following a recommendation from Kevin Dailey, who teaches at the school and was honored as the Kentucky Teacher of the Year in 2024. The program is provided by the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina, the national partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where the exhibit was first created.
“There is no better time to study and learn about the life of Anne Frank,” Dailey said in a news release. “I am so proud of my students and my school for their commitment to peace education and our community.”
Students at Ballyshannon are undergoing peer training this week. Once they complete their training, peer guides will lead other students through the exhibit and lead them in conversations about the Holocaust and Nazi discrimination.
“The peer guides decide for themselves how they’re going to lead discussions and how to think and talk with one another about Anne Frank, the Holocaust and topics like antisemitism, discrimination and genocide,” Anne Frank Center Director Dr. Doyle Stevick said in a release. “Anne Frank was a young person who used her words powerfully, and we think the exhibition and peer education encourages more young people to do the same.”
There will be three main showings of the exhibit later this month, all of which are open to the public. The first two will occur on March 11 and March 19, both from 5 to 7 p.m. RSVPs are recommended but not required for those two showings.
Another showing will occur on March 25, but pre-registration is required for that showing.
RSVPs and questions should be directed to Kevin Dailey at kevin.dailey@boone.kyschools.us.