[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 37 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO SHANNON WRIGHT

 Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, I rise today to remember and 
honor a young Arkansas school teacher who made the ultimate sacrifice 
for one of her students.
  Children often think of their teachers as heros. And there is no 
better word than ``hero'' to describe a courageous woman named Shannon 
Wright, a thirty-two year old English teacher at Westside Middle 
School. Shannon died in the tragic schoolyard shooting Tuesday along 
with four students. In the hail of gunfire, she gave her life in order 
to protect an eleven-year old girl, Emma Pittman. Emma says she 
believes Mrs. Wright saw the bullets coming and shielded her from being 
hit. Shannon was shot twice while she tried to protect the young girl 
from injury.
  In the words of Emma Pittman's mother, ``I feel she needs a hero 
award for saving our child. I want her family to know how grateful we 
are because she didn't think of herself--she thought of the children.''
  While Shannon will forever be remembered as a hero, it will be 
extremely difficult to ease the pain her death has brought. Shannon 
Wright was not only a teacher, she was a mother, a daughter, and a 
wife. She left behind her husband of twelve years, Mitchell, and her 
2\1/2\ year old son Zane. Her life was devoted to serving others, and 
she was deeply loved by her family and her many friends. The loss of 
Shannon Wright will be mourned not only by those whose lives she 
touched everyday, but by the entire Jonesboro community, the state of 
Arkansas, and people throughout our nation.
  This horrible act of violence has caused incredible pain for the 
people of Northeast Arkansas. We grieve not only for Shannon Wright, 
but for the four girls who were killed, Natalie Brooks, Paige Herring, 
Stephanie Johnson, and Brittheny Varner. It's impossible to understand 
why such a tragedy occurred, especially in a schoolyard. While it seems 
that nothing good could ever come from something so terrible, Shannon 
Wright's death taught her students and the rest of us an incredibly 
important lesson about the power of selfless action. Shannon Wright's 
selfless action saved a young girl's life.
  Shannon Wright will always be remembered as a hero who gave her life 
to protect the children.

                          ____________________