Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/882783
J O Y E L L A B E U L E R doesn't consider herself a hero. She just did what she had to do, says the San Bernardino Teachers Association (SBTA) member. In this case, it was saving a child's life in April after a shooting at North Park School. Student Nolan Brandy, 8 at the time, was wounded after a gunman opened fire, killing his estranged wife, Karen Smith, Nolan's special education teacher. Another of Smith's students, Jonathan Martinez, 8, was shot and killed. e gunman then killed himself. Beuler, a third-grade teacher who has been in the profession for a decade, thought the killer might still be on the loose when instructional aide Jennifer Down- ing came into the front office with eight other students — including Nolan — to tell her of the shooting. Beuler just happened to be in the office crunching numbers for the school plan when the violence occurred, and a sub was in her classroom. Beuler says the events of that day will be forever etched in her memory. "At approximately 10:20 a.m. on April 10, 2017, a man entered the front office and signed in. He then left the office and went to Ms. Smith's room. A few minutes later, Jennifer entered the front office and told us that a man was in the classroom and was shooting. She said that Nolan had been shot. He was right beside her, along with eight other students from that classroom. "Darlene Peters (school secretary) and I immediately Real-life heroes recall tragedy in San Bernardino school By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman Darlene Peters, Nolan Brandy and Joyella Beuler. 18 cta.org Perspectives M E M B E R S P O T L I G H T