Team Manager Left Out Of Cheerleading Photo In Shoreline Jr. High Yearbook

LAYTON, Utah — A Layton family said they want to know why their 8th grade daughter was left out of the cheerleading team picture in her school’s yearbook.

Summer break for schools is usually a happy time for students, but at Shoreline Junior High School in Layton, one student came home disappointed.

“She was sad. She was sad that she was not included,” said Jordyn Poll, Morgyn’s older sister.

The yearbook is a fun reminder of the past year, until one student, who just finished 8th grade, saw the cheerleading team picture.

“There was two pictures that were taken — one picture was taken with Morgyn and one picture was taken without Morgyn,” said Poll.

The one without Morgyn was posted in the school’s yearbook.

“I don’t think discrimination was intended,” said Poll. “I don’t think there was malice. I don’t think that people meant to be mean.”

Morgyn, who has Down’s Syndrome, was the team manager. She went to meets and practices with the cheer squad.

“When we asked her how she felt, she said, ‘These are my friends and I want them to know they’re my friends,'” said Poll.

Poll posted about it on Facebook and thousands of people commented in support of Morgyn, telling her she’s beautiful and did nothing wrong. 

“I’m overwhelmed at the good and I’m overwhelmed at the ability to rally people together,” said Poll. “At the end of the day, the most important thing to do is love everybody.”

KSL-TV spoke with the Davis County School District. They released a statement saying they were saddened by the mistake.

The district’s statement reads in full:

We are deeply saddened by the mistake that was made. We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred. 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 also will continue to look at our processes to ensure this does not happen again.

Morgyn’s family said they were not mad at the school or the school district; they just hope this is a learning opportunity for the future.