Dunwoody Alum Ryan Seacrest Gives Shout Out on Homecoming Royalty

Ryan Seacrest – “American Idol” host, TV producer and Dunwoody High School graduate – recently gave a national shout out to his alma mater for selecting two special needs students as homecoming king and queen.

WXIA TV reports Seacrest talked to Dunwoody HS principal Tom McFerrin about the nearly unanimous vote by the school’s 1,200 students to name Gus Ashbury and Hannah Keen homecoming royalty.

Ashbury, a student with autism, was escorted by his mother to receive his award, while Keen, who has Down’s syndrome, was escorted by her older brother.

The pair were honored again at the homecoming dance.

“In a world where there are so many stories about bullying, this is a story of acceptance,” Seacrest told McFerrin Friday on his national radio show, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest .“ That’s what’s so beautiful to me.”

According to the Seacrest show’s website, McFerrin stressds that the culture at Dunwoody High School is based on acceptance and anti-bullying. Crowning Gus and Hannah as homecoming king and put those principles into action.

Also on Patch:

• Youth Bags Rare Albino Deer
  
• Stink Bugs Chomp Their Way to Michigan; How to Control Them
  

“What’s great about it is the whole acceptance,” McFerrin said on the Seacrest broadcast. “Those kids have gone to school with our special needs kids since kindergarten, a lot of them. If you could just see the interaction with those kids with our special needs students from middle school and elementary school all the way up to high school. So they’ve known these kids forever and there’s this sense of acceptance. … The special needs students run a coffee shop for our regular ed students to come down and purchase a cinnamon roll or get a cup of coffee so they’re able to interact with them, and it’s great to see.”

During their conversation, Seacrest recalled that he was a sophomore at Dunwoody High School when McFerrin was a senior there, making the good news story even more special.

The moment when Gus and Hannah walked out onto the football field was unbelievable, the principal said.

“For me, I’ll never forget that moment, but also to see the student body and their reaction on the field and just to see the reaction of Gus and Hannah is something you’ll never forget,” McFerrin said.

»Photo courtesy of DCSD Athletics