NewsWSVN 7 News MiamiSeptember 11, 2026Miami-Dade County
Pennsylvania Fifth-Grade Teacher Develops 9/11 Lesson Plan Featuring Flight 93 Crew Stories
Photo: WSVN 7 News Miami
Fifth-grade teacher and former flight attendant Martha "Marty" Runzer is sharing her personal connection to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with students through a newly developed lesson plan focusing on Flight 93 crew members. Runzer, who attended a summer symposium at the Flight 93 National Memorial, created the material to help students connect with the historical event.
Read the full story at WSVN 7 News MiamiWhy It Matters
Students in West Chester, Pennsylvania, receive classroom instruction on the events of September 11, 2001, incorporating personal accounts from a former flight attendant who knew crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93.
Key Facts
- Martha “Marty” Runzer is a fifth-grade teacher at Glen Acres Elementary School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and a former United Airlines flight attendant.
- Runzer was on maternity leave on September 11, 2001, and knew several crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93, including senior flight attendant Lorraine Bay and purser Deborah Jacobs Welsh.
- Runzer left the airline industry in 2006 after 18 years to pursue a career in elementary education.
- In June, Runzer attended a symposium for 40 Pennsylvania educators at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- The symposium was organized by educators including Melissa Nelson, assistant professor of practice at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education.
- Runzer and other elementary-level symposium participants created a lesson plan based on four Flight 93 heroes to share with other teachers.
- The lesson plan focuses on age-appropriate themes such as kindness, responsibility, and courage.
Who's Mentioned
locationFlight 93 National Memorial“Memorial site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania”OrganizationCable News Network, Inc.“Copyright holder of the article”PersonMelissa Nelson“Assistant professor of practice at the University of Pittsburgh School of Educat”PersonSandra Bradshaw“Flight 93 flight attendant”locationWest Chester“Location in Pennsylvania”OrganizationUnited Airlines“Airline operating Flight 93”OrganizationGlen Acres Elementary School“Elementary school in West Chester, Pennsylvania where Runzer teaches”OrganizationCNN“News organization publishing the article”PersonDeborah Jacobs Welsh“Flight 93 purser”PersonMartha “Marty” Runzer“Fifth-grade teacher at Glen Acres Elementary School and former United Airlines f”locationShanksville“Location in Pennsylvania where Flight 93 crashed”OrganizationUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Education“University institution involved in organizing the symposium”PersonLorraine Bay“Flight 93 senior flight attendant”