This story literally made me teary-eyed–it’s also something straight out of the movies. Parents and students living in the Lawrence Township school district in Indiana are mourning the loss of their beloved Principal Susan Jordan. Jordan lost her life saving students from an oncoming bus.
When students were getting on their bus at the end of the school day on Tuesday, one of the buses lurched forward suddenly, and jumped the curb. This is literally the stuff nightmares are made of for educators and parents. As a former teacher myself, I can’t even imagine the panic Jordan felt during the accident. So, she did the most selfless thing she could: She pushed four kids out of the way. In doing so, however, she was fatally hit. Two 10-year-olds were hospitalized with minor injuries.
According to Fox59, the bus driver stated she’s unsure of what made the bus move; she has since had her blood tested for presence of drugs and alcohol, but her results came back negative. Jordan’s reputation as a stellar and dedicated educator precedes her, and perfectly summed up by a firefighter at the scene: “They just loved her. Up to the minute she was alive, she was helping the kids.” One parent was even reported as saying he moved to the area because of all the wonderful things he heard about Jordan.
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It wasn’t just the adults who felt that way, either. Her students loved her so much that they made a video for Jordan eight months ago. One teacher even says:
“Principal Jordan is everything I want to be when I grow up. She is kind. She’s caring. She’s compassionate. She’s loving. She’s sincere, and she’s a professional. She makes all of us want to be even better.”
Having dedicated educators like Jordan is a gift to cherish, and illustrative of how acting with passion, love, and kindness will be remembered, even if it seems to go unnoticed initially. Let this be a testament to how important educators are in your child’s life, and never take them for granted.
Watch the tribute video for Jordan–it’s truly heartbreaking in retrospect:
