Field Trip to Remember 9/11

Jen Wilson was watching “60 Minutes” at home in East Hampton last fall and heard high school students on the show say they were not aware of all the details of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks, either because they were too young at the time or had not yet been born. Ms. Wilson, whose daughter is a junior at East Hampton High School and was a year old at the time of the attack, immediately decided she had to do something.

“The tragedy and heroism of that day should never be forgotten and our students need to learn about it so that they too will never forget,” said Ms. Wilson, an alumnus of East Hampton High School. “Especially since they’re studying U.S. history in high school, and the events of 9/11 are being taught in the classroom.”

Ms. Wilson, who had visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Lower Manhattan, decided that she had to find a way to get East Hampton students to visit it, too, especially given the East End’s proximity to the city.

Because she expected funding to be the biggest challenge, she approached Adam Fine, the East Hampton High School principal, and Bill Barbour, a United States history teacher, for permission to contact potential donors and grants organizations.

“We said yes without a moment’s hesitation,” said Mr. Fine, who recalled a moment seven years ago when he first joined the district and realized that many high school parents had moved to the East End from the city after Sept. 11.

“The 9/11 Museum and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., are two institutions that should be seen by everyone, especially young people,” he said.

As soon as Mr. Fine got the green light from Richard Burns, the district superintendent, Ms. Wilson began writing letters.

“First, I wrote to all the fire departments in the area,” she said. Peter Grimes, the Springs Fire Department chief,  was one of the first people to support the field trip and commit to a yearly donation. The East Hampton and Montauk Fire Departments responded soon after with promises of reoccurring donations.

“In order to set a reasonable target” for herself, Ms. Wilson said, her initial plan was to take only the 11th-grade advanced placement United States history class to visit the museum. “But then I contacted the Greater East Hampton Education Foundation,” she said. “Laura Molinari, who was directly affected by 9/11, and Theresa Talmage  — they’re both on the board — told me the foundation would be happy to award the project a reoccurring donation of $5,000, but on the condition that the entire 11th grade could participate. They wanted this to benefit as many students as possible.”

As a result, all 233 11th-grade students will travel to Manhattan in May to visit the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. East Hampton High School will cover the cost of admission for students and chaperones, while donated funds will pay for the necessary buses. The total cost will be approximately $10,000 to $12,000, she said.

“Next year,” Ms. Wilson pointed out, “the 11th-grade class is bigger, more like 270 kids, and we might have to do some additional fund raising.”

The museum’s website states that “The National September 11 Memorial and Museum is the country’s principal institution for documenting and examining the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the events that preceded them, including the first attack on the World Trade Center on Feb. 26, 1993, and exploring the continuing significance of Sept. 11, 2001.”

“When I read that, I knew this field trip is a must for our students, and I am so happy to know that it will start this year,” Ms. Wilson said.