Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a nationwide call to action, urging K-12 educators across the country to set aside time tomorrow to honor the victims and heroes of the September 11th terrorist attacks on its 25th anniversary.
In her message to teachers and education leaders, the Secretary highlighted the importance of ensuring younger generations understand the history, the profound loss, and the extraordinary courage that shaped the nation’s response. As today’s students were born long after the attacks, Secretary McMahon encouraged schools to help bridge this gap through thoughtful, age‑appropriate civic instruction.
“A quarter century has passed since that terrible day, but we must never forget what September 11th means for the United States,” wrote U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “This year, I call on American schools to educate students with moral clarity about the events of that day and its significance for the Nation’s history. Educators can achieve this by incorporating an age-appropriate lesson about 9/11, a moment of silence to mark the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center, or by asking students to share their own reflections about that tragic day.”
Secretary McMahon prompted educators to ground lessons in the real stories of individuals whose courage continues to define the legacy of 9/11 – such as the passengers of United Flight 93, Welles Crowther (the “Man in the Red Bandana”), and Lieutenant Colonel Marilyn Wills.
To bring classrooms across the country together in remembrance, the Secretary invited every school to participate in a moment of silence tomorrow. This observance honors the 2,977 victims, the heroic first responders, the service members who gave their lives in the years that followed, and the families who continue to carry their legacy forward.
“I encourage every school in the nation to join me in observing a moment of silence tomorrow and play your part in fulfilling the promise to Never Forget,” concluded Secretary McMahon.
Click here to read the full letter from Secretary McMahon and a proclamation from President Trump.