Heroes Among Us

We’d like to share a story that happened a little over a week ago. Van Rensselaer Elementary School Teacher’s Aide Cassie McElroy helped save a student’s life. She noticed a student was choking on something. 

“I did a quick scan of the room and I noticed that my other student was on the floor, on his back, gasping for air. I immediately went into action and had to do the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the piece from his mouth.”

Teachers and Teacher’s Aides are not required to attend CPR Training in New York State, but McElroy has the experience thanks to her youth sports involvements and a medical background. 

“With that training, I just did what I had to do.”

McElroy says that even if CPR training is not a requirement, it can always be helpful. “Even those couple of hours, even though you don’t think they’re beneficial or they may be boring, it can help you. I never thought in a million years I would have to use that type of training, and it happened.”

Thanks to Cassie and our entire staff for always looking out for our #fRAMily!