First Day Of School On 9/11

This is the second in a series of articles about how 9/11 impacted Woodbury as the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks draws near.

Ten years ago, the first day of school for wasn’t held at its new Woodbury campus.

For those first couple of days classes were held at different places across the east metro, including the Science Museum and 3M.

The first day students were actually at Crosswinds was 9/11.

School nurse Tara Goebel was at the school a decade ago; most students were on their way as news broke that the U.S. was under attack by terrorists. She was on the phone with her husband that morning.

“He said, ‘Oh my god, another plane just hit,’” Goebel said.

The news was starting to trickle in as teachers and administrators got ready for their approximately 250 students in grades 6-8. Many students didn’t know what happened until they arrived at school.

For the most part, students were confused about what happened and worried that similar attacks might happen here, Goebel said. Teachers did not let students watch television during the day and tried to keep things as normal as possible.

Some parents came in to take their children home and those who were severely distraught saw counselors and support staff, said Lisa Vojtech, a guidance counselor at Crosswinds.

The school—like most others in the area—opted not to close because officials didn’t want to send children home to an empty house, Vojtech said.

While students were not allowed to watch the news that day, teachers did discuss the events of 9/11 with them, giving context and assuring them they were safe, Goebel said.

Like so many others that day, Goebel and Vojtech said they were upset by the news, but they also knew they had to remain strong for the students.

“Personally, you know it’s horrible,” Goebel said. “But we had a job to do here, and that’s take care of kids.”

Many crisis-management manuals say the best thing to do in such situations is maintain an environment of normalcy, Vojtech said.

“Just do business as usual—they just handle things better,” she said.

Added Goebel: “If we had reacted, it would have been worse for the kids.”

In the days after 9/11, teachers talked about the news with students and gave them a chance to express their feelings. But the school didn’t hold off on regular lessons.

“You just do your job,” Goebel said.