Today, Clinton Prairie Jr.-Sr. High School students and staff paused to remember September 11, 2001, by watching BOATLIFT: An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience, a short documentary narrated by Tom Hanks.

For our students, September 11 is history. None of the students currently attending Clinton Prairie Jr.-Sr. High School were alive when the attacks occurred 25 years ago. They have learned about September 11 in classrooms and have heard adults talk about where they were and what they remember, but they did not experience the fear, uncertainty, and grief that defined that day.

That makes it even more important that we continue to tell the story.

However, Clinton Prairie chose to tell that story from a different perspective.

BOATLIFT tells the largely untold story of what happened in the waters surrounding Manhattan after the attacks. With bridges, tunnels, and other transportation systems shut down, hundreds of thousands of people found themselves stranded at the southern tip of Manhattan. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a call for “all available boats” to help with the evacuation.

The response was extraordinary.

Ferry operators, tugboat captains, commercial vessels, private boat owners, fishing boats, and countless ordinary citizens headed toward Lower Manhattan. Many did not know exactly what they were going to encounter. They simply knew that people needed help.

In less than nine hours, nearly 500,000 civilians were evacuated from Manhattan by boat, making it the largest sea evacuation in history.

That is the story we wanted our students to see.

September 11 is undoubtedly a story of tremendous loss. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, and countless families and communities were forever changed. But it is also a story of courage. It is a story of people who, in a moment of unimaginable uncertainty, chose to help someone else.

For students who were not alive in 2001, that lesson is particularly important.

History is more than memorizing dates, places, and numbers. It is about understanding people. It is about understanding how individuals respond when faced with circumstances they never expected. It is about recognizing that even in the darkest moments, people have the ability to demonstrate compassion, courage, leadership, and selflessness.

The people in BOATLIFT were not necessarily trained rescuers. They were ordinary people who saw a need and answered the call.

That message is one that resonates far beyond September 11.

As a school, we want our students to understand that being a hero does not always require a uniform, a title, or special training. Sometimes it simply requires seeing someone who needs help and choosing to do something.

That is one of the most powerful lessons we can pass on to a generation that did not experience September 11 firsthand.

Today, our students were given the opportunity not only to remember a tragedy, but also to learn about the strength of the human spirit.

We remember those who were lost.

We honor those who ran toward danger.

And we celebrate the ordinary people who stepped forward to help their fellow Americans when they needed it most.

We remember. We learn. We carry the story forward.