Making KC Accessible for All is the one stop site for KC families with loved ones needing disability resources. MKCA helps to make finding Kansas City based special education resources even easier and in one spot.
My name is Angela Holtgraves, I have been a special education teacher for over a decade in the KC area. I am currently the Reading Interventionist at Saint Thomas Aquinas high school. I grew up in KC and attended Saint Thomas Aquinas for high school, where I met my husband. I then went on to Xavier University in Cincinnati for my undergrad and came home to KC and received my master's degree in special education from UMKC. I have always believed my students can do anything, I just have to find the way they learn best. I am certified in adaptive special education K-12th grade and low-incidence special education K-12th grade. Ihave taught in both the resource and self contained setting during my career. I also have a passion for helping to collect toys and gifts for low-income families and children battling pediatric cancer so they may have a Christmas.
Above all else, I am a mother to two amazing kids, RJ and Zoey Ann. I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Rob, for 11 years and we have been together for close to 20 years. I am very blessed that he encourages me to always follow my heart and understands my passion for special education. He and our children also supported me through my breast cancer battle at the age of 28. I am now a seven-year survivor and look forward to many more years as a survivor. Out of my breast cancer battle came The Stocking Project for Children's Mercy Hospital. The Stocking Project is a yearly event. We work to collect toys and stocking stuffers for the children at CMH who are battling pediatric cancer. To date, we have filled close to 800 stockings and raised over $90,000 in donated items. In November 2020, I received the People Magazine Kindness Award with my students for the Stocking Project. I was also featured on the Hallmark Channel Home and Family show for winning this award.
I believe a parent should be their child's best advocate in life. My parents taught me to never give up faith in myself and to push for what I believe in. It is my goal to help families best advocate for their children and to find all of the Kansas City Disability resources to help those families. We are lucky that KC offers so many disability resources, but it can be overwhelming on where to begin. So please, let MKCA help you!
Over my years in special education, I constantly had parents asking about resources or surprised there were programs available to their child. Over the years, I created a resource booklet for my families, but over time more people asked for access to the information. Out of these requests came Making KC Accessible for All. I hope this site helps you and your loved ones to have better access to our incredible city. You will find categories with resources for a variety of topics, every photo links directly to the companies site.
This site is in honor of every parent who trusted me to teach their child and for every one of the amazing students who has ever entered my classroom. You have made me a better person and I hope you learned as much from me, as I have learned from you.
Love to all of you,
Mrs. H
"It's kinda fun to do the impossible" - Walt Disney
(Pictured: on a fun note, meet my buddy Graham, we bonded over everything Disney. Hi buddy!)