News Briefs
Iowa teacher saves child’s life
Nov 1, 2007 4:15 PM
It’s the kind of underreported story that happens a lot in the schools, where teachers don’t just educate students but keep them healthy and safe, too.
One local newspaper covered the news of how a Manly, Iowa, 1st-grader almost died after turning blue from swallowing a quarter that had lodged in his throat. That was until classroom teacher Kristi Burt took action.
“I thought I had to get help from another adult,” she said. “But the teacher in the next room wasn’t there, so I put him down and performed the Heimlich maneuver.
“I was about to scream when all of a sudden I heard ‘cha-ching,’” she said, “and I saw a quarter on the floor.” That’s when the student told the teacher he was sucking on a quarter, and he had swallowed it.
Burt, a third-year teacher at North Central Elementary School, had CPR and first-aid training. The child’s parents told the local newspaper, “We honestly feel she saved our son’s life.”
New York dailies: Take note. Good things happen here, too, and not just on test scores.
Iowa Globe Gazette, Oct. 24
