SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — For 16-year-old Jack DowDell, Bingham High School is not just a place to learn, but a place to feel included.
“When you first have a child born with Down syndrome, one of your biggest worries is, will they have friends? Are they going to belong?" said Jack's mom Kimberly DowDell.
The peer tutoring program at the Jordan School District works to pair general education students with students in special education programs, which is where Jack met 16-year-old Ava Mousley.
“We all know Jack's just the coolest... everyone knows Jack, and everyone wants to be friends with Jack, including myself, he just has this light that is contagious, he brightens every room he steps into," she said.
When it came time for homecoming, Mousley had an idea.
“I didn't have a date, and we were just kind of brainstorming, and then we were like, "What about Jack?” she said.
She wanted Jack's best friend Koda to feel included too, so she reached out to her friend Hazel Anderson.
“I've known Jack and Ava from the peer tutor program since eighth grade, and we've been pretty tight," Anderson said, "she just texted me and was like, "Hey, can you go to homecoming with Koda? And I was like, "Heck yeah! I'm so excited.”
So Jack and Koda got to take their moves from the classroom, to the dance floor. Kimberly posted their experience on social media, which reached millions of views.
“It's just simply being a friend and reaching out and getting outside of yourself," Mousley said, "so cool to teach others about inclusion and how they can implement it in their own schools. We can start in the high school, start with dances. It doesn't need to be hard.”
“I think a lot of the people, especially in my generation, we feel lonely. We feel isolated because we don't really know how to interact with others, and so if someone takes the first step," Anderson said, "It'll make us feel more together as humans.”
Kimberly feels this is why inclusion is so important for her son.
"We want to see our kids have the same opportunities as anybody else. Nobody gets left behind. If you see someone who's alone or needs a friend, reach out, bring them to the table. Everyone deserves a seat at that table, and to hear Jack say it was the best night of his life. It was the best night of my life too," she said.