BLYTHEWOOD – On Friday, American Leadership Academy students remembered the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and honored the courage, sacrifice, and service of the heroes who stepped forward that day 25 years ago.
The school’s Never Forget Ceremony began at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, when hundreds of ALA students, faculty and guests filled the school’s gymnasium. Grades 7-12 Director Jarred Strait opened the ceremony with a welcome message, and then the colors were presented by the Spring Valley High School JROTC color guard.
After the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem by Jada Blanco, ALA’s social studies teacher and former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Betsy Torres recounted what happened during the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
At 8:46 a.m.—the exact time that American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center—everyone in the gym observed a moment of silence.
A school official rang a handbell four times in remembrance of the four hijacked planes and all those whose lives were changed forever on that fateful day.
Following a short video of people recalling where they were and what they felt as the 9/11 morning unfolded, ALA student leader Karrington Nixon introduced the morning’s speaker, S.C. State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver.
The ceremony drew to a close with a performance by the school’s Guardian Elite Choir.
