Utah teenager with Down syndrome is left ‘heartbroken’ after school excludes her from cheer squad yearbook photo
- Morgyn Arnold, 14, who has Down syndrome, serves as manager of Shoreline Junior High’s cheerleading squad
- She posed for yearbook photos with members of the team
- However, the school eventually decided upon a photo without Arnold in it for publication in the yearbook
- Her sister has now called out the school for the insensitive exclusion; officials from the school have described it as a ‘mistake’
A teenager with Down syndrome is ‘heartbroken’ after she was excluded from her cheerleading team’s yearbook photo.
Morgyn Arnold, 14, posed for photos with the squad at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton, Utah, only to later learn that the school selected an image without her in it for publication in the yearbook.
Arnold’s older sister, Jordyn Poll, took to Facebook to call out the school, writing in a post: ‘I hope that no one ever has to experience the heartbreak that comes when the person they love comes home from school devastated and shows them that they’re not in the picture with their team.’
Poll explained that her little sister served as the cheer squad’s manager and ‘spent hours learning dances, showing up to games, and cheering on her school and friends’ only to be left out of the official yearbook snap.
Administrators from Shoreline Junior High responded, saying the selection of the photo without Morgan in it was a ‘mistake’.
Morgyn Arnold, 14, posed for photos with her squad at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton, Utah. She is seen front and center
However, the school selected an image without Arnold in it for publication in the yearbook (seen above)
‘We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred,’ they wrote on Facebook.
‘Apologies have been made to the family and we sincerely apologize to others impacted by this error. We will continue to address it with the parents of the student. We will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again.’
However, Poll claims it is not the first time her sister has been excluded.
‘This is the second time in three years that sweet Morgyn has been left out of the yearbook. Two years ago they didn’t even include her in the class list,’ Poll proclaimed on Facebook.
‘We contacted the school administration this year, and the answer we got was as ignorant as the photo. To the Shoreline Junior administrator who blatantly said they didn’t know what we were expecting of them & there was nothing they could do, I hope you can take this away – you can be better and I expect you to be better.’
Morgan’s older sister, Jordyn Poll, appeared on Fox 13, explaining why she chose to call the school out
Later, Poll added that her Facebook post was in no way a critique of the cheer squad itself.
‘Please listen and hear me clearly – these girls are not the problem. Please stop shaming them!! They were kind, inclusive, and they are Morgyn’s friends,’ she stated.
Poll later appeared on Fox 13, explaining why she chose to call the school out.
‘Morgyn is my very best friend, and my heart was broken for her to experience this kind of exclusion,’ she stated. ‘I felt like at some point it was on me to say something.’
Administrators from Shoreline Junior High (pictured) responded, saying the selection of the photo without Morgan in it was a ‘mistake’