Many parents weren't close enough to reach the school, so some of the children and their teachers remained inside the building, in the hope they would be safe from the madness outside.
An hour and 20 minutes after the first plane hit, how safe they were came into question as the south tower collapsed in an avalanche of glass, cement, metal, desks, paper, and, horrifyingly, people. The noise was deafening, and the air filled with smoke, dust, and ash so thick it blocked the sun.
As thousands of people poured out of evacuated buildings, the children and their teachers held hands and joined the crowds racing through the streets, "chased by a giant cloud of black smoke," remembers one child. "People were running like in a Godzilla movie," says Carney.
One of the students recalls: "There was all this screaming…I thought the world was going to end."
Deciding where to go was a problem for everyone in the city. Within minutes after the second plane had struck, the New York Port Authority closed the local bridges and tunnels and grounded all flights.
No one could enter the city, yet no one could leave, either.
The students of P.S. 234 finally reached another school about two miles away, where they sat and worried about whether their families were safe.
It was hours before many were reunited with their parents.
The Aftermath
Almost overnight, P.S. 234 was converted to an emergency command center. The students were not able to return to the school until February.
Some of the children who lived close to ground zero were virtually homeless for weeks or months.
The students of P.S. 234 were reassigned temporarily to other schools in the city, in many cases separated from their friends. Many of the children suffered nightmares—haunted by fears of dying and being buried alive—and were anxious that the horror could happen again.
What they actually witnessed was haunting.
Bruce Arnold, school psychologist at P.S.234, says a number of students reported seeing a lot of birds that morning; others said they saw birds in flame. "We now know," says Arnold, "that most likely what those children saw were people jumping from the towers."
In the weeks and months that followed September 11, the students began a slow process of recovery. The teachers say they've observed that process in what the kids write, what they draw, and what they say.
It helped, they noted, that the children were eventually able to return to the familiar surroundings of their old school and the routine of school life. Expressions of support from around the world also helped—many people sent gifts to the school, which the children loved.
The EXPLORER team captured the exuberance of the 10-year-olds in the classroom as well as the chaos and fear they experienced on the day of the terrorist attacks. The students took photographs, told their stories, and participated in the editorial process for an article published in National Geographic Kids.
In a moment that sounds like a take from the "I Love NY" ad campaign, the students tell the EXPLORER crew why New York is so great—and why they are, too.
"We're all strong," one child says, "and we all have to get through it together."
Growing Up at Ground Zero airs on Sunday, September 8, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MSNBC. National Geographic Kids is available on newsstands.
