KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A group of Northland students gets ready for their choir class every Tuesday and Thursday at Staley High School.
But in this class, they don't just sing.
The choir director said last year, when it was Staley High School's tenth anniversary, they performed a celebration concert at the Kauffman Center while holding hands.
"All 300 kids didn't complain about doing it because they understood why," Staley Choir Director Tracy Resseguie said. "So for 50 minutes they all held hands and sang their hearts out."
And they did it with grace; joining hands for Grace Fisher, who's blind.
"Choir's always been important to me but up until I came here, I haven't really been included this much in the class and so that means a lot," Fisher said.
"In a world of choral music, everything has to happen through sight cues," Resseguie said. "If I ask for more or less or cut-offs, Grace didn't know when that was going to happen or she had no way to anticipate that other than what she was hearing."
Unable to see the conductor cues, Resseguie decided Fisher's hands, not her voice, was the answer.
After speaking with a high school senior last year, Resseguie asked if she could hold Grace's hands during practice and concerts.
"'Is there a way you can hold Grace's hand and give her signals when I'm slowing down or if I need more, or if I'm getting ready for a cut off?'" Resseguie said. "Just so that she's also a part of that because without that information, I felt she was flying whichever way to make it work."
But instead of just two of her classmates holding her hands, everyone joined in.
"I think that's really cool," Fisher said. "It shows that everybody cares enough and that I'm included. I do not like to be excluded so I really like that."
Through touch, not song, these students became more than just friends — they are now a family.
"We're all here to help. Everyone's on this planet to help, because our journeys — though they may be individual — our journeys aren't easy, and it's hard even when it's easy," Resseguie said. "And if we could all just take the time, take a breath to just say how can I help that individual or that one person in just that one moment, it makes the whole world better."
Grace may not have sight, but with an entire choir class in her corner, she has no limits.
"There's nothing that I can't do in here," Fisher said. "I have the same expectations, and I'm able to do everything. I mean I might need extra help with the cues and hand signals and stuff but I mean I can still do it."
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