In a poignant ceremony filled with tears and smiles, Banneker Elementary School dedicated a memorial plaque Wednesday honoring KCK police officer Hunter Simoncic, who was killed in the line of duty on Aug. 26, 2025. The plaque, presented by KCKPD Chief Karl Oakman to school principal Amirah Pughsley, will hang in the school’s reading room, a tribute to an officer who spent his off-duty hours mentoring second-graders through the Lead to Read program.
Simoncic, despite working the night shift, would come to Banneker, in northeast KCK, every Wednesday to read with students. His commitment was so strong that he never missed a session and would even fill in for other mentors when needed, demonstrating what KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman described as an extraordinary dedication to the community.
“When you talk about someone who struggled with [a speech impediment], but he would make himself vulnerable and come in here and read to second graders — that’s just amazing when you think about that,” Chief Oakman said during the ceremony.
The chief recalled how Simoncic overcame obstacles to achieve his dream of becoming a police officer. Several departments had rejected him because of his speech impediment, but KCK saw past that challenge.
“We saw a decent individual who could overcome his setback. And he did. He was a great asset to this police department,” Oakman said. “One thing that I learned from him is, regardless of your setbacks, keep trying.”
At the ceremony, Simoncic’s legacy was evident in the faces of students, teachers, and fellow volunteers who gathered to honor him. Pughsley spoke emotionally about the officer’s impact on her school community.
“He’s a hero. He’s a real-life hero,” Pughsley said. “To make time, to work night shifts and then come in here during the day — someone who is not selfish, someone who has a commitment to the scholars in this area, the scholars in this city means the world to me, means the world to our school community.”
Pughsley noted that approximately fifty students participate in the Lead to Read program at Banneker, with mentors arriving every Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. to spend 30 to 45 minutes reading one-on-one with students.
The principal described how Simoncic would work with his mentee using flashcards he made himself, focusing on areas where the student needed extra help. The student remembered Simoncic vividly and was willing to talk about his mentor after learning of his death through television news.
“That impact, that memory will always be something special,” Pughsley said.
Ravell Oakman, Lead to Read’s site coordinator at Banneker and wife of Chief Oakman, shared her personal connection to Simoncic. She had recruited him to the program after talking to him while he worked off-duty security at Walmart. He hailed from the small southeast Kansas town of Galesburg and frequently spoke about his family.
“My husband and I, we’ve been blessed — a lot of these officers are like our children,” said Ravell Oakman, who has volunteered with Lead to Read for seven years before becoming a site coordinator. “Hunter is very special to me.”
Ravell Oakman accompanied her husband to the hospital on the day Simoncic died, the first time she had ever done so. When Simoncic’s parents arrived, his mother immediately connected with Ravell because Hunter had talked so much about Lead to Read with his family.
“When you meet his family, you figure out why he was the way he was,” Ravell Oakman said. “He always was over in that area with all of the other mentors and getting to know them and talk to them. That’s why he’s so special to not only me, but to everyone else too.”
Lead to Read KC Executive Director Rhea LeGrande reflected on what Simoncic’s service represented for the organization and the broader community.
“What Hunter did was remind us that you could be a part of solving these big problems — one minute, one moment, one book at a time,” LeGrande said. “We have to show [students] what it can look like.”
Lead to Read KC, now in its 15th year, started at Whittier Elementary with just 11 volunteers. The program, dedicated to improving children’s literacy through community-based mentorship and specialized programs, has since expanded to include almost 2,000 volunteers serving 32 schools across the Kansas City metro area, five in Kansas City, Kansas and 27 in Missouri. Nearly 700 students in the KCK area participate in the program.
Whittier, Eugene Ware, West Park, and Frank Rushton elementary schools also participate in the program or will be starting in the upcoming year.
“We call our volunteers reading mentors, and that’s for a reason,” LeGrande explained. “Of course, you come and read a good book with a great kid, but you also are a mentor because you see the same kiddo week after week.”
She shared a success story of a former participant who met an engineer through the program in second grade. That student is now studying engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The organization also distributes thousands of books through community locations including barbershops, coffee shops, and police stations, ensuring children across the metro have access to reading materials.
Among the mentors in attendance was Mary Stewart, the recently retired principal of Wyandotte High School, who has dedicated 43 years to education in the city.
“I have a passion for KCK for sure, and for helping students, no matter what age, learn to read,” Stewart said. When asked about addressing literacy challenges, she emphasized the importance of naming the problem and working together to solve it.
“I think the biggest piece is that it’s not one person doing it, or it’s not a right or wrong,” Stewart said. “It’s like how do we just create a culture of reading?”
KCK Mayor Christal Watson also attended the ceremony, praising the collaborative efforts of the school district, police and fire departments, and Lead to Read.
“Hunter’s life had purpose, and he will continue to live on,” Watson said. “It’s a new day in Wyandotte County. We’re here to love and appreciate, but most of all, lift up the future of Wyandotte County.”
As the ceremony concluded, Chief Oakman reflected on the enduring nature of Simoncic’s legacy.
“I told his mother at the funeral, I said, ‘Don’t worry, we will all be dead and gone and Hunter will always live on,'” Chief Oakman said. “He will forever be a momentous person in the city of Kansas City, Kansas.”
On the day of the ceremony, Ravell Oakman was reading with two girls who exemplify the program’s impact.
“They’re very energetic. Initially when they started out, they were a little quiet and they didn’t really engage much. And now you saw today they’re totally excited and don’t want to stop,” she said, describing their transformation.
As Ravell Oakman observed during the ceremony, watching students eagerly wait by the classroom door with books in hand for their mentors to arrive: “The smiles keep me coming back.”
The memorial plaque, set to be prominently displayed in Banneker’s reading room, serves as a lasting reminder to students of Simoncic’s dedication to the community and their future. Every Wednesday when mentors arrive, students will see his name and remember the officer who never missed a session, who made time despite working night shifts, and who showed them that they mattered.
For those interested in becoming reading mentors, Lead to Read KC accepts volunteers who can commit to 30 minutes once a week. Volunteers must pass a background check. More information is available at leadtoreadkc.org.
