Former Sarasota, Florida, second-grade student Krystal Davis remembers a wave of confusion washing over her and her classmates on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, after a suited man whispered into the ear of the president of the United States, who was seated just in front of the students. Then-President George W. Bush was visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School and listening intently to children in Mrs. Sandra Daniels’ second-grade class reading, when the look of admiration on his face suddenly gave way to concern. Chief of Staff Andrew Card had just relayed that a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, later recalling he whispered to the president, “America is under attack.” Davis told ABC News commemorating 25 years since the attacks, “You could see the shift with the president once he got the message, and then you could see it on his face. And then the shift of him going back to his normal self and smiling like, ‘I don’t want to alarm the kids.'” Teacher Daniels said she immediately knew something was wrong and that his entire demeanor changed. Davis described the concern as Bush was escorted out of the room after the reading lesson, with students wondering if they had done something wrong. Meanwhile, 10-year-old Stevenson Tose’-Rigell, son of principal Gwendolyn Tose’-Rigell, was in the school’s library waiting for Bush to deliver a speech on the No Child Left Behind Act. Tose’-Rigell said they waited for hours on the podium not knowing what was happening. Bush eventually entered the room and delivered an address to the nation confirming an apparent terrorist attack, a stark departure from the expected education policy script. Back in Daniels’ classroom, Davis said children were moved to another room where they watched images of the Twin Towers crashing down on television. Tose’-Rigell watched the devastation unfold on a small TV in the school’s front office since he could not leave right away. From Sarasota, Bush boarded Air Force One, departing for military bases in Louisiana and Nebraska before returning to Washington, D.C., that night. By the end of the day, nearly 3,000 people had died in terror attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A quarter century later, alumni of Emma E. Booker Elementary who were present reflect on the tragedy. In May, the school commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by welcoming a steel beam from the World Trade Center via the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Stephen Siller Jr., whose father was one of the 343 New York City Fire Department members killed on 9/11, noted that bringing the steel beam to the school was uniquely impactful. Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor reflected on the district’s personal connection to the legacy of Sept. 11. Davis, who works in healthcare and aspires to be a police officer, said the events inspired her to pursue a career serving others and wanting to do more for her community. Tose’-Rigell carries complex feelings of sadness and pride, noting that archival footage of his mother—who was the school’s principal and passed away in 2007 after a battle with cancer—brings back memories of her each year on the anniversary.
Source: abcnews.com
