Union City Teacher Reflects on Flight 93 Experience Ahead of 25th Anniversary

UNION CITY — As communities across the country prepare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks Friday, a Union City teacher will return to a place that has taken on a deeply personal meaning.

Kelly Knauff, a seventh- and eighth-grade social studies teacher at Union City Middle School, will return to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville on Friday for the 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony. Her return comes just months after she was selected as one of 40 Pennsylvania educators to participate in the inaugural Flight 93 Educator Symposium in June.

For Knauff, the opportunity began with her students. She applied for the three-day symposium because Union City’s seventh-grade students take a field trip to Flight 93 National Memorial each spring. She wanted to learn more about Flight 93 and gain a deeper understanding that she could bring back to her students.

“I wanted to be able to learn more about Flight 93 in order to enhance my knowledge,” Knauff said.

An experience unlike any other

Knauff was one of only 40 educators selected from across Pennsylvania. The symposium was organized by Friends of Flight 93, the National Park Service and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Education. The number 40 carried special significance throughout the symposium, representing the 40 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 93.

Before arriving, the educators were given required reading, including Jere Longman’s Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back, which tells the individual stories of those aboard the flight.

During the first day of the symposium, the educators heard from four relatives of people who died aboard Flight 93. For Knauff, listening to the families tell the stories of their loved ones was an experience she said she will never forget. The families challenged the educators to continue telling the stories and carrying on the legacy of the 40 passengers and crew members.

The following day brought an even more personal experience. The families invited the 40 educators to accompany them to the crash site. The area is restricted to the public and is the final resting place of those aboard Flight 93. Knauff said the educators were asked to respect and honor the people who died there.

“It was an extreme honor for us 40 educators to be invited into this hallowed ground,” she said.

The educators were shown debris that remains in the wooded area near the crash site. Knauff described the experience as “one of the most emotional moments of my life.”

The day also included presentations from park rangers about the collection of artifacts and the importance of museums, followed by a visit to the Tower of Voices.

Bringing the experience back to Union City

The symposium was designed not only to educate the teachers but to give them tools they could take back to their classrooms.

On the third day, the educators worked in groups of up to five to develop lessons around the “Teach to Remember” theme. Knauff’s group included history and special education teachers from across Pennsylvania. Their lesson was titled “What Is Your Legacy?”

The educators later learned that their lesson had been selected to be recorded and made available to educators through the Flight 93 National Memorial’s Teach to Remember program. The group recorded the lesson Aug. 28, and it was made available online Sept. 1.

For Knauff, that provides another way to extend what she learned beyond her own classroom. She plans to have her students participate in the lesson during the week of Sept. 11 while also sharing what she learned during the symposium.

Knauff said the experience has already changed the way she approaches teaching about 9/11. She previously spent several days each year discussing the events with her students, but she now has firsthand experiences to share with students who were not yet born when the attacks occurred.

“My students are so engaged and captivated during our discussions,” she said.

Returning for the 25th anniversary

At the conclusion of the June symposium, the educators were invited back to the Flight 93 National Memorial for the 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony. Knauff will make the trip back to Shanksville Friday.

She said she is “truly honored” to have been selected as one of the 40 inaugural Educator Symposium members and expects the anniversary ceremony to be an emotional day.

Throughout the three-day symposium, Knauff said she repeatedly found herself asking a simple question: “Why me? Why was I chosen?”

Her question reflects the humility she feels about an opportunity that began with her desire to become a better teacher for her students.

“I am truly humbled to receive this honor,” Knauff said.