Elementary School Marks Its Place in History

by James Roland
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
September 12, 2002

In a chapter of American history that stretches from the World Trade Center to the mountains of Afghanistan, little Emma E. Booker Elementary School would seem an unlikely center of attention.

More than 80 percent of its students are on free or reduced lunches and Booker has earned a C grade from the state for the last few years.

Yet it was at this "average" school populated with many children from struggling families that President Bush arrived on Sept. 11, 2001, to talk about his education initiative, "No Child Left Behind."

And it was here, surrounded by students and teachers, where Bush first learned that America was under attack by terrorists. It was from a microphone at Booker that the world first heard Bush call for peace.

On Wednesday, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and Florida Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan joined local school leaders at the very place where Bush and they began that fateful day.

Students spent much of the day talking about the softer side of Sept. 11, about courage and heroes and freedom. They honored local police officers and firefighters for being heroes every day. At an assembly for most of the school, about 300 students sang patriotic songs.

But no one shied away from the tragedy of the attacks.

The school's kindergartners created a banner of the New York skyline. Overhead were more than 3,000 stars representing the lives lost at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and in the plane crash in Shanksville, Pa.

Brogan and Paige told the students how lucky they were to live in a democracy and how enjoying freedom sometimes has a terrific cost.

After the program, teacher Sandra Daniels said it was no whim or accident that put Bush and Booker together. Daniels, a longtime teacher at the school, said the spotlight that fell on the hard-working teachers and students at Booker was an answer to many, many prayers.

"Emma Booker was a praying woman," Daniels said. "God is answering some of her prayers and the prayers that go up all the time ... Nobody had heard of Emma E. Booker Elementary before. God saw fit to make us known and when God puts you on the map, you're on the map."

The White House chose Booker Elementary in part because of its proximity to an airport, but largely because of its demographics and its academic improvement, said Superintendent Wilma Hamilton.

Hamilton added that the attention that began a year ago has showcased Booker's many qualities that cannot be measured on a test.

"This is a way to show that in the things that really count, like character, ethics, heart, it's an A school," Hamilton said.

What this means to Booker's history remains to be seen, but Principal Gwendolyn Tose-Rigell said she thinks that the school's role in the story of the 21st century is cemented forever.

"It does set (Booker) apart," she said. "There was another spot on Earth affected by this and it's a more tender spot because it affected children ... Administrations will change, teachers and students will come and go, but they should always know that this school has an important place in American history."

Eight-year-old Dinasty Brown speaks with a sweet whisper of a voice as she recalls the day she met the president and how she still worries about the safety of her country.

Dinasty was one of 16 second-graders who met with President Bush at Booker Elementary on Sept. 11, 2001. She remembers that Bush was reading a story about a goat when he was told about the terrorist attacks in New York.

A year later, on a day when she and her schoolmates commemorated the Sept. 11 anniversary, her memories and concerns were as vivid as the red, white and blue on her vest.

"I was shocked when our teacher said the president was coming to our school," Dinasty said of Bush's 2001 visit. "Some people in our class didn't believe her and then he walked in our class."

But the more she and her fellow students learn about terrorism, the more worried she gets.

"Sometimes at night, I'll be lying in my bed and think about what happened," she said, her little voice growing quieter. "I hope it won't happen here."

And by here, Dinasty meant Sarasota and her school. Like her principal, Dinasty wants future generations to know how Booker came to have a place among the landmarks of the world.

"They should know this is an important school," Dinasty said. "It's a special school."

jay.roland@heraldtribune.com

Copyright 2002 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Co.

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