President Bush read to these students on 9/11. Now, they reflect as adults
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Where are they now: Students in classroom with President Bush on Sept. 11th
Kimberly Kuizon reports
SARASOTA, Fla. - Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the former second graders who watched history unfold inside a Sarasota classroom still carry the memories of that morning.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 16 students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School were preparing for a special visit from President George W. Bush, who had come to highlight their reading program.
"To us, that day was important to us because we had worked so hard in our reading and learning skills," recalled former student Natalia Jones-Pinkney in a 2021 interview to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
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Jones-Pinkney and Lazaro Dubrocq were among the students in the classroom that morning. They remembered seeing cameras, lights and members of the press gathered behind their teacher, Sandra Kay Daniels.
"We walk in and we see all the cameras and lights set up on the back in the classroom facing backwards of Ms. Daniels," Lazaro remembered.
President Bush participates in a reading demonstration the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. (Photo by Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library)
"All you hear in the back of us is reporters, cameras and press going ‘click-click-click-click-click.’ Ms. Daniels is like, ‘Don’t turn around. Act like you’re on your best behavior,’" Natalia continued.
The students had no idea the presidential visit would soon become one of the defining images of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"We took our seats, and from then on, the day proceeded as history goes," Lazaro said.
As the class began reading "The Pet Goat," then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card entered the room and whispered to Bush that America was under attack.
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"I remember looking up briefly when I was supposed to be following along. I noticed Mr. Card came in off the side, whispered something in the president’s ear. I remember the image of him looking up and kind of looking off into the distance when he’s receiving news of the attack," Lazaro said.
The students, who were about 7 years old, were suddenly confronted with a tragedy far beyond what they could understand at the time.
After leaving the classroom, Bush addressed the nation from the school.
"Today we’ve had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country," Bush said.
For Jones-Pinkney, the attacks changed her sense of safety.
"A lot of us were thinking, ‘It could have been us.’ It could have been us. That could have happened around here. Our community and homes," she said.
Lazaro said the attacks broadened his understanding of the world beyond Sarasota.
"My entire life was Sarasota. My entire life was mainly the neighborhood I grew up in and the ride to and from Booker Elementary at that age. Here we are. I didn’t know what the Twin Towers were, what the Trade Towers were. At that point, your growth is kind of expediated," he offered.
The classroom remains a place of national significance nearly 25 years later. In May, a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center was brought to Emma E. Booker Elementary as part of a nationwide tour marking the upcoming anniversary.
When FOX 13 spoke with the former students in 2021, Jones-Pinkney said the experience inspired her to pursue a degree in elementary education. Dubrocq said the events of Sept. 11 shaped the way he approaches life and family.
"I like to think a lot of the moments the actions that I have taken in my life, my adult life, have kind of catalyzed from that day. Thinking to yourself, you need to take action now, tomorrow is never guaranteed, and honestly be with your loved ones," he said.
"I have a strong bond with my family, and I’m able to take advantage of every single day," Lazaro said.
"Just to know 20 years later it’s all relevant and important," Natalia added. "It shaped and impacted who I was. It’s an important thing."
When the sun came up on September 11, 2001, 16 Sarasota second graders were getting ready for a big day.
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"To us, that day was important to us because we had worked so hard in our reading and learning skills," recalled one of those students, Natalia Jones-Pinkney.
Natalia and Lazaro Dubrocq, along with the rest of their class at Emma E. Booker Elementary School, were about to host President George W. Bush.
"We walk in and we see all the cameras and lights set up on the back in the classroom facing backwards of Ms. Daniels," Lazaro remembered.
"All you hear in the back of us is reporters, cameras and press going ‘click-click-click-click-click.’ Ms. Daniels is like, ‘Don’t turn around. Act like you’re on your best behavior,’" Natalia continued.
Little did they know, the visit to showcase their reading program would take a jarring turn into history.
"We took our seats, and from then on, the day proceeded as history goes," Lazaro said.
Their teacher, Ms. Kay Daniels, began the lesson as Bush observed. As they opened their books to read "The Pet Goat," Andrew Card, the White House chief of staff, walked in, bent down and whispered in the president’s ear.
"I remember looking up briefly when I was supposed to be following along. I noticed Mr. Card came in off the side, whispered something in the president’s ear. I remember the image of him looking up and kind of looking off into the distance when he’s receiving news of the attack," Lazaro said.
A look back: President George W. Bush first pitch during 2001 World Series
Nearly two months after the tragic attacks on September 11, then President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at the 2001 World Series. The game and gesture by the president was meant to instill a sense of hope and unity after one of the biggest tragedies the U.S. had ever experienced.
The students, many of them only 7 years old, would learn a lesson no teacher could have prepared them for: terrorism, death and war.
Surrounded by students and staff, Bush addressed the nation from their school.
"Today we’ve had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country," Bush said.
The students’ sense of security and childhood innocence were forever altered.
"A lot of us were thinking, ‘It could have been us.’ It could have been us. That could have happened around here. Our community and homes," Natalia said.
Lazaro also remembered the day.
"My entire life was Sarasota. My entire life was mainly the neighborhood I grew up in and the ride to and from Booker Elementary at that age. Here we are. I didn’t know what the Twin Towers were, what the Trade Towers were. At that point, your growth is kind of expediated," he said.
The students in that classroom on Sept. 11, 2001, are now adults.
"I used to have to walk through this gate every day to go to school," Natalia recalled as she returned to campus.
Some have children of their own.
Natalia lives in Sarasota with her children, Nathanyals and Layla.
"They are everything. My babies are everything," she said.
Natalia Jones-Pinkney now has her own kids. Her son attends Emma Booker Elementary, as his mom did.
Her son attends Emma E. Booker, the same school where his mother became part of history nearly 25 years ago.
The day continues to affect her life.
"It impacted me a lot because I wanted to be the same way Ms. Daniels was. For me, it left a mark. I got my degree in elementary education at Bethune-Cookman University, I kind of became a teacher, I followed those footsteps," she explained.
Lazaro went to New York and graduated from Columbia University. He now works as a project engineer in Houston.
"Tomorrow is never guaranteed," says Lazaro Dubrocq.
Sept. 11 opened his eyes to the world.
"I like to think a lot of the moments the actions that I have taken in my life, my adult life, have kind of catalyzed from that day. Thinking to yourself, you need to take action now, tomorrow is never guaranteed, and honestly be with your loved ones," he said.
While they have taken different paths, each was shaped by a moment in history they never expected to witness.
"I have a strong bond with my family, and I’m able to take advantage of every single day," Lazaro said.
"Just to know 25 years later it’s all relevant and important," Natalia added. "It shaped and impacted who I was. It’s an important thing."
The Source: The information in this story came from FOX 13 Tampa Bay’s 2021 interviews with former Emma E. Booker Elementary School students Natalia Jones-Pinkney and Lazaro Dubrocq, along with archived footage and reporting on President George W. Bush’s visit to the Sarasota school on Sept. 11, 2001. The story also draws on remarks Bush made after learning about the attacks and details about a World Trade Center steel beam later brought to the school. This story was reported from Los Angeles.