Faculty and staff around the District marked the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks by thoughtfully teaching students about the events of that fateful day.

At Scarsdale Middle School, Butler 8 English faculty Janie Fitzgerald used oral history to help teach students about the attacks. After learning about the day in class and reading related poems and articles, Fitzgerald’s students interviewed someone of their choice about the day, asking them about what they saw, what they smelled, what they remembered about the media coverage, and how things have changed since the attacks. Then they made their audio interviews into videos to share their oral histories with each other. 

In Denise Del Balzo’s Cooper 7 English classes, students explored the StoryCorps, which has a stated goal to record a story for every victim as a permanent record in the National Archives. Students listened to stories together and discussed them, and also had an opportunity to explore the archives on their own. Students reflected on the takeaways of each story they choose. 

At Scarsdale High School, the day began with a PA announcement from principal Ken Bonamo’s, which included a moment of silence in honor of those lost. Students also had time to learn, ask questions and discuss the attacks during their social studies classes.