I’m a New York City teacher working and living in Manhattan. On the morning of 9/11/01, I did ordinary things and had ordinary thoughts. I went to vote and remembered how worried I was that I was going to be late for a meeting I had to attend...

Beautiful skyline, sunny day Everyone scurrying on their way Twin Towers standing tall and erect Representing much of what we respect.

I looked up at the sky, peaceful and blue, All that would soon change, but no one knew.

I literally saw the students age that day. They saw history unfold before their eyes and learned that it is real.

I pray every day that the youngest of this generation will be spared the trauma and enjoy the beautiful life that this country offers.

The wounds of that horrible day in our city have forever changed the skyline, but not our spirit!

I was not yet teaching on 9/11...but it is how I found my way to teaching. I was a Broadway and touring company manager for shows. As I drove down the west side highway to rehearsal I saw the planes hit the World Trade Center and heard the event...

I have been a teacher for only six years, but 9/11 was pivotal in making me one.

A week earlier I had introduced my students to writing a journal. Give details, I told them. Let readers see and feel what you describe. One student volunteered to read aloud her first entry. She wrote of a trip taken with her family to Connecticut...

I was, at that time, the orchestra director for I.S. 96. We then had the largest I.S. string program in the city. We were scheduled to play at the Dial-a-Teacher event at the Sheraton on October 20. All trips were cancelled following 9/11. Somehow...

There was a family in my school with four daughters. I taught two of the girls.

September 11, 2001 started out as a beautiful day and it ended as the worst day of my life. I was a senior in high school when word came that a plane went into the World Trade Center. As the day went on rumors were going through the school and I...

I loved my common-law husband very much. His name was John Andreacchio.

Someone from the office came to the classroom door, and told me that the World Trade Center was on fire, and not to let the children look out the window. Knowing that my son Keith, a medic with New York Hospital would be there, I was concerned, but...

My sister-in-law Susan Ann Ruggiero died in the towers on 9/11 (96th fl). I went to look for her on 9/12. My family and hers never cried so much or so hard. We expected to sort through injured victims to find her. There were none. This was very hard...

I will always be very proud of everyone who was working at P.S. 128 that day on 9/11. It showed the true character of those who went into teaching and stayed in it with a true commitment to the children and the broader community.

It was surreal to be teaching my regular lesson after what I had just seen. My thoughts were: protect them; they're in a different world; be in their world with them — one that's happy, free and without a care.

The fear on the children's faces, the concern etched on the teachers' faces. All day long we heard the sound of sirens, fire engines, patrol cars and ambulances, along with the announcements over the public address system of the names of the children...

Everyone in school banded together to be sure that our children were safe and well taken care of until they could be picked up by their parent or guardian. Although everyone was frightened and worried about what would happen next, our faculty...

Realization of what was happening took several minutes. Cognizance of the magnitude of the death and destruction took hours. Understanding? Who knows? Maybe never. But move on we must.

Parents were running into the building, crying, demanding to get their children. We had to quickly organize ourselves, calm the parents, try not to alarm the children and release children to parents in an organized fashion.

On that fateful day I was awakened by a phone call. At the time I had just gotten my bachelors degree in Production Management from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. I was still in the process of deciding if I was going into television production...

By the time the second tower was hit, parents were streaming to the school to pick up their children. A command post was established in the principal's office and two locations were set up to sign out students; one in the library for elementary...

I teach at the High School of Economics & Finance, which is located at 100 Trinity Place, one tiny block away from where the World Trade Center complex stood. That morning I got off the train at Chambers St. and, as was my usual routine, I made my...

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of "that day." 9/11 forever changed my life. The morning was so beautiful, a crisp September morning with a sky as blue as a photo backdrop. I arrived in my school building, Murry Bergtraum High...

In August 2001, I began working as a temporary employee in the Law Department of the Port Authority of NY/NJ in the North Tower on the 66th floor. It was supposed to be an indefinite assignment. I had been there for over a month when on Monday...

I was a science teacher at the High School for Leadership and Public Service, located less than 500 yards from the South Tower. I was there on 9-11-01 and evacuated kids to Battery Park.

We begin the lesson, a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. It is September 11, a Tuesday, 8:45 a.m., the sky is clear and blue, the air crisp and clean, a stellar September morning by all accounts. As we read on, I stand at my desk, textbook in hand...

My third graders were working on a writing project when the classroom phone rang. The office said to pack up one of my students because she was going home. I no sooner got her packed up when the phone rang again and two more students were going home...

September 11, 2001 marked my third day of teaching in a public school. In the beginning days of school, there were many announcements being made over the intercom reminding teachers to begin their lessons, to bring down attendance, and to say goodbye...

I was presenting a library orientation lesson to a 2nd grade class, when another teacher came in and asked me to turn on the TV because "something terrible was happening in Manhattan." I turned on the TV and turned it away from the class and watched...

UFT members work every day to make a difference in people's lives. On September 11, 2001, in the face of horror and uncertainty, we were there to make a crucial and, in many cases, a life-saving difference. Teachers, nurses, school counselors...

Mike Sill is the UFT’s secretary and also serves as the director of personnel, payroll and special projects. Elected to office in 2019, he is serving his second term within UFT leadership. Mike received his bachelor’s degree in English from...

Brewing Wellness is a podcast created by the UFT's Member Assistance Program to support the mental health and well-being of our members.

Brewing Wellness is a podcast created by the UFT's Member Assistance Program to support the mental health and well-being of our members.