New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is set to announce a $1 million funding initiative aimed at educating the city's youngest residents about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The program will focus on those who were not alive during the events, which constituted the largest terror attack on U.S. soil.
The funding will be allocated to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to expand its educational programs. Menin stated that the initiative is crucial for teaching the next generation about the unity experienced in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11, highlighting the heroic acts of first responders and everyday New Yorkers.
"It's an educational initiative to ensure that this next generation is fully aware of what transpired on 9/11, and all of the different acts of heroism, the loved ones that were lost, and the rebuilding efforts as well," Menin said. "It's important for the students to realize what the terrorists were trying to take away from us. They were trying to take away our way of life. They were trying to destroy our freedom. And we were able to fight back and rebuild. And that’s really what the 9/11 Memorial honors."
The announcement is scheduled to take place at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Memorial on Thursday, a week before the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The funds were secured as part of the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget.
According to the museum, nearly one-third of Americans alive today were born after September 11, 2001, and millions more were too young to remember the event. A significant portion of the funding, 75%, will support free field trips to the museum for the city's 20,000 public school eighth graders.
Approximately $250,000 of the allocated funds will be directed towards the museum's virtual educational programming. This will extend the reach of educational resources to students beyond New York City, offering virtual field trips and providing materials for teachers to use in their classrooms when discussing the tragedy.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has a history of offering workshops, conferences, and training for teachers of grades 3 through 12. This year, the museum will launch a live program in commemoration of the 25th anniversary, featuring the Anniversary Digital Learning Experience (DLE). The DLE is a free, on-demand film that includes firsthand accounts of the attacks and their aftermath, with a live chat component featuring museum staff.
Menin emphasized that understanding the tragedy and the subsequent rebuilding efforts is integral to New York's cultural fabric, even for those who did not directly experience it.