Olathe parents want names of students who died read at graduation. Inside their fight
Since Amber Hartsook lost her son, Treyton, in a car crash last year, she has been bracing herself for the pain of watching his classmates walk the graduation stage without him.
When she learned that his name would not be read aloud at Olathe South High School’s ceremony, she felt a new kind of grief.
“I thought, you know what, there’s got to be purpose in this. There’s got to be purpose in the pain,” Hartsook said. And I think that’s where we’re at right now, is finding a little bit of purpose in speaking up for Treyton.”
Hartsook said she is now pushing for the Olathe School District to amend its policy for honoring deceased students at graduation ceremonies to include one small, but important thing for bereaved mothers: their child’s name read aloud.
Several families spread across the Olathe Schools district have shared Hartsook’s pain of losing a child who would have graduated this year or last. Across the district’s five high schools, there were nine student deaths in the class of 2025, a district spokesperson said.
Treyton died December 20, 2025 in a car crash in Oklahoma as his family was on their way to California to visit relatives for Christmas.
According to his obituary, a vehicle struck theirs from behind, resulting in a devastating crash.
Olathe district policy
As the district policy currently stands, it offers parents an honorary diploma to be awarded outside the graduation ceremony. It also says the student’s name will be printed in the “In Memory Of” section of the graduation program, and offers parents the option of discussing non-graduation ceremony based recognitions.
But it doesn’t explicitly allow for their names to be read at the ceremony alongside their peers.
“The Board recognizes the importance of honoring students who have died, while ensuring equity, sensitivity, and consistency in such situations,” the policy reads. “Any recognition of a deceased student will avoid causing distress to the school community and respect the wishes of the family.”
A Change.org petition created by Hartsook, calling for the district to amend the policy for the reading of names, had received over 3,700 signatures as of Thursday.
“I selfishly want the change for me… I want to experience my son’s name being read aloud in the ceremony, but I want it for other families too,” Hartsook said.
Student deaths in Olathe district
Treyton loved sports. He began playing basketball, baseball and soccer from a young age, his mother said.
As he got older, he developed as a pitcher and could throw a “nasty slider,” according to his obituary. He was competitive and loved stealing bases and picking off runners at first base.
This season, Treyton’s longtime teammates wore his initials and most recent jersey number, 24, on their helmets to honor his memory.
Hartsook said she was grateful for the work Olathe South Principal Sean DeMaree did to help her honor her son.
But she was crushed when the district told her his name wouldn’t be read, she said.
Hartsook said she planned to speak at the Board of Education’s regular meeting Thursday as a last-ditch effort to have Treyton’s name read.
Olathe South’s graduation ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 16 at the College Boulevard Activity Center, 11031 S. Valley Road.
“I feel like the district has a good start to the policy, but there’s a big piece of recognition missing, and I hope we can finish the work that’s been started,” Hartsook said.
Her efforts to have Treyton’s name read this May come on the heels of another parent who fought for the same right last year.
Benjamin Van Buskirk
Carrie Van Buskirk lost her son Benjamin Van Buskirk (Ben) on July 27, 2024. Ben was hit by a Jeep while trying to help a stranded driver on Interstate 35 in Merriam.
A Chevrolet Equinox was stalled in the left lane of traffic. As Ben exited to help the Equinox driver, a Jeep Liberty traveling south then hit the Equinox and drifted across the road, running into Ben, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Ben, 17, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Ben’s was among nine student deaths in the class of 2025 across all district high schools, a school district spokesperson said. That number includes students who passed away at any point during their K–12 education prior to the Class of 2025 graduation.
While Ben’s name was ultimately read at last year’s commencement ceremony, Carrie Van Buskirk said she was “forced to do some aggressive PR” to accomplish it. She shared with The Star some email exchanges with district officials who initially pushed back on the reading of his name.
“There’s no greater recognition of one’s meaningful life than to hear their name,” Carrie Van Buskirk said in one of the emails.
After that battle, the Olathe School District officially adopted a policy codified “JP” on Feb. 5 this year, with rules for honoring students in good standing enrolled in a high school or post-eighth grade promotion. Those rules don’t include a reading of their names at graduation.
Kansas mom supports changing policy
In a statement to The Star, a district spokesperson said the policy was created to provide “consistent guidance” for families going forward.
“In our large district, we have very sadly experienced student loss nearly every year,” said Erin Schulte, a district spokesperson. “This is a complex and sensitive issue that our district has navigated alongside a significant number of families over the years.”
“We recognize that this is an understandably trying time for all involved, and it is important that we provide clear, consistent guidance across our system,” Schulte said. “While there could have been different forms of recognition in the past, district leadership and the Board of Education saw the need to establish a unified approach for both families and administrators.”
Schulte said the policy was drafted by a committee of mental health professionals, school principals, and parents who have experienced the loss of a student, among others.
While another Kansas mom commends the district for making a policy, she said she hopes they understand why Hartsook is pushing so hard to change it.
Isaiah Ferguson, Lawrence High
Amanda Pino lost her son Isaiah Ferguson, a Lawrence High School student, in June 2025. Isaiah died after likely experiencing a seizure while swimming at his grandparent’s neighborhood pool in Olathe.
The seizure caused him to drown, a medical examiner ruled.
“Those of us that are grieving parents, we’re already in that club that nobody wants to be in, and the world keeps moving. Life keeps moving on, but for us, it doesn’t in the same way,” Pino said.
Pino described feeling genuinely heard and supported by the Lawrence school district, which allowed Isaiah’s name to be read and thanked his family for their input.
“I just feel like Olathe has nothing to lose and everything to gain, and they have such an example they could set if all they did was honor these deceased students in this way,” Pino said.
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 4:20 PM.
