ANGOLA, NY – A veteran A.J. Schmidt Elementary teacher will take the stage this Friday as a featured presenter at a community 9/11 remembrance ceremony, drawing on a personal history that stretches back to Ground Zero itself.

Sarah Kauzala has spent more than 20 years teaching in the Lake Shore Central School District, currently at A.J. Schmidt Elementary. In September 2001, she served as an Advanced EMT with the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company and Rural Metro Medical Services (now AMR Western New York). Just days after the September 11 attacks, she was deployed with fellow fire company members to New York City to assist in recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

That firsthand experience shaped the educator she would become. This past July, Sarah was selected as one of just 33 educators nationwide, chosen from 19 states, to attend the 9/11 Memorial and Museum's Summer Institute for Educators in New York City. She now provides professional development to fellow teachers on how to bring this history into the classroom for students with no direct memory of the events of that day. In her own classroom, she has incorporated personal narratives, artifacts from Ground Zero, and intergenerational interview projects to help students understand civic responsibility and build empathy.

Sarah will join other first responders at the ceremony, hosted by the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company to mark 25 years since the attacks. Lake Shore is proud that a member of our own teaching staff carries this history into classrooms every day. 🦅💚