Hero teachers

Hero teachers, It's hard to believe that the one-year anniversary of the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is upon us . Gunman Adam Lanza took the lives of 20 children and six adults at the Connecticut school, and the impact of the massacre was felt around the world. Amid the grief that is still with the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives, stories have emerged of teachers whose bravery kept the death toll from rising. Let's honor the teachers at Sandy Hook and other schools around the world for their heroic efforts – big or small – in saving their students from life-threatening situations.

Michael Landsberry

Date: October 21, 2013

Teacher Michael Landsberry, known as Mike, has been called a "fallen hero" for his role in a shooting at a Nevada middle school in October. The 45-year-old former marine  lost his life while trying to stop a student who brought a gun to school.

Peter Trautmann

Date: September 2013

Middle school teacher Peter Trautmann is being credited with saving the life of student Shelby Bray in September. Bray  was eating lunch in the school cafeteria when a piece of a chicken nugget got caught in her throat. If Trautmann hadn't acted so fast, Bray could have lost her life.

Antoinette Tuff

Date: August 20, 2013

Though she's not a teacher  Antoinette Tuff  definitely deserves a spot on this list. She has been called a hero for talking down a shooter at a Georgia elementary school and stopping the potential loss of many lives.

Tara Muchow

Date: May 30, 2013

Tara Muchow , a teacher at this school for children with special needs, acted fast to save her student's life last May when they were at a school picnic. When student Mercedes Watson suddenly began to choke , Muchow reacted quickly and saved her life.

Timothy Tweedie

Date: May 2013

Houlton High School teacher Timothy Tweedie  is being credited with stopping what could have been a very serious incident at his school last May. One student threatened another student with a knife before Tweedie stepped in and stopped the attack.

Tammy Glasgow

Date: May 20, 2013

Teacher Tammy Glasgow  acted fast when a tornado hit the elementary school where she teaches in Oklahoma City last May. The quick-thinking second-grade teacher is being credited with preventing what could have been even more deaths from the week-long tornado outbreak.  

Ryan Heber

Date: January 10, 2013

Taft Union High School teacher Ryan Heber  is being called a hero after he stopped a school shooter on Jan. 10. A 16-year-old student  of Heber's, who had already shot one student, had the gun pointed straight at the popular teacher before Heber managed to stop him.

Dawn Hochsprung

Date: December 14, 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung  was one of the many victims in the shooting that took place at the school in December of last year. The passionate educator, who had just entered a doctorate program , has been called a hero for her attempts to stop gunman Adam Lanza.

Victoria Soto

Date: December 14, 2012

First-grade teacher Victoria Soto also died a hero in the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last year. The 27-year-old, known as Vicki, put her students first and tried to physically protect them from gunman Adam Lanza. Her actions undoubtedly stopped more lives from being lost.

James Krumm

Date: November 30, 2012

Casper College  teacher James Krumm  was killed in an attack by his own son late last year. After Christopher Krumm  barged into his father's classroom and shot him with an arrow, the elder Krumm fought with his son in order to save his students. If he hadn't acted in the way that he did, the tragedy could have had more fatalities.

Katie Fuchs

Date: September 11, 2012

Students at Stemmers Run Middle School in Baltimore have teacher Katie Fuchs  to thank for saving their lives during an incident there last year. When a student pointed a gun at her and his classmates, she stepped in and prevented any lives from being lost.

Derrick Schonauer

Date: September 7, 2012

Twenty-six-year-old Derrick Schonauer , a health teacher at Normal Community High School , has been called a hero for stopping a student gunman after he'd already fired shots. Because of the new teacher's  efforts, no injuries or deaths occurred.

Jesse Wasmer

Date: August 27, 2012

A student gunman  had already shot one person before Perry Hall High School  guidance counselor Jesse Wasmer  stepped in and stopped him. If not for Wasmer's quick actions, more people could have been injured or killed on what was the first day of a new school year.

Jeff Crewe

Date: April 13, 2012

Weston Collegiate Institute  teacher Jeff Crewe  saved 18-year-old Ajethan Ramachandranathan's life after the student suddenly collapsed in class last year. Ramachandranathan had stopped breathing, and if it weren't for Crewe and a student teacher, he could have died.

Robert Bailey

Date: March 11, 2011

When a tsunami hit the Japanese town  he was teaching in, Robert Bailey  had to think fast about what to do. If the 27-year-old Brithadn't, his life as well as the lives of his many students could have been lost.

Paul Simpson

Date: March 3, 2011

Paul Simpson  died in spring of 2011 while trying to save the lives of his students, girls from the Shelford Girls' Grammar, a school in Australia . The 40-year-old teacher and well-known coach  was with several other teachers and a group of students at the beach when they got into trouble in the surf.

David Benke

Date: February 23, 2010

Two students had already been shot at Deer Creek Middle School  when math teacher David Benke  stepped in and stopped the gunman. The hero teacher certainly prevented what could have been a fatal incident like one that the town has already experienced .

Kennet Santana

Date: August 24, 2009

Hillside High School  teacher Kennet Santana said he didn't have time to think and just reacted to a bomber on campus in 2009. The former student had already set off one of the many pipe bombs he brought with him  when Santana managed to stop him.