03/30/2026
In moments like these, words never feel like enough. Our hearts are heavy as we stand alongside the students, families, faculty, and community of Kenwood Middle School following a devastating tragedy that has shaken them to their core. On March 27th, a school bus carrying students and staff was involved in a tragic accident in Tennessee. Among those on board were 25 students and five adults, traveling together on what was meant to be a normal school day.
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Instead, the unimaginable happened. Two beloved students from Kenwood Middle School, Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson, lost their lives. Several others were injured, leaving an entire community grieving, searching for strength, and trying to process a loss that no one should ever have to endure. As one official described it, this is “a parent’s worst nightmare.” Bryson and several others are still hospitalized.
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At the heart of this community is Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor, a devoted educator, our National Director for Revolutionary Pageants, and a Board Member of Crowns for Change She is more than a leader, she is a mentor, an advocate, and a safe place for her students. A safe place or our community. The two young lives lost were part of her ELA classroom, children she taught, encouraged, and cared for deeply.
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100% of the funds raised through this GoFundMe will be distributed first and foremost directly to Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor’s classroom for support. Additional funds will go to the families for medical and counseling expenses, and to help the school heal in many ways, which will take time and resources. As students prepare to return to school on March 30th, they are not returning to the same place they left. They are returning to empty seats, to grief, to confusion, and to a need for compassion and healing that will take time and care. Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor has asked for something simple yet powerful, a show of unity. She invited others to wear black and gold, to stand in solidarity on March 30th, and to remind her students that they are not alone. Even in heartbreak, they are surrounded by love.
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This GoFundMe has been created to support Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor, her classroom, and the Kenwood Middle School community during this incredibly difficult time. Funds will help provide resources for students, support classroom needs, assist with memorial efforts, and offer care to those impacted as they begin the long journey of healing. The Kenwood community has already shown incredible strength, gathering for vigils, lifting one another up, and honoring the lives of Zoe and Arianna with love and remembrance. Now, we ask for your support to continue surrounding them with that same compassion to Bryson, others hospitalized and Mariette's entire classroom. Whether through a donation, a prayer, a moment of silence or simply sharing this story, you are helping carry a community through one of the hardest moments they will ever have to face. Please continue to keep these students, families, teachers, and staff in your thoughts.
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Together, we stand with Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor and her Classroom.
Together, we stand with Kenwood Middle School.
Together, we are
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In moments like these, words never feel like enough. Our hea… Tisha Savage needs your support for Support Kenwood Middle Dr. Mariette Lynn Sydnor's Classroom
