“Phenomenal” teachers credited as heroes in face of danger

More than $17,000 had been raised as of Friday evening in a Go Fund Me account for two Iberia Parish teachers who were injured in Thursday night’s theater shooting.

The money will go toward defraying medical expenses for Jena Meaux and Ali Martin, who both are teachers at Jeanerette Senior High. Meaux is the school’s librarian. Martin is an English teacher.

But first, donations will go toward the other shooting victims and their families, said Iberia Parish teacher Cammie Maturin, a colleague and friend of both women.

Meaux and Martin were both injured when suspected shooter John Houser opened fire inside a showing of the movie “Trainwreck.” Maturin said Meaux jumped in front of Martin to shield her. Although injured, Martin was able to pull a fire alarm to alert theater personnel and other patrons to the incident.

“These are two amazing women,” Maturin said. “They are inspirations to me and a lot of other people. They did what we are taught in our meetings and professional development trainings. We often go over what to do when a crisis hits. I firmly believe these two women did exactly what they were taught.”

Iberia Parish Superintendent Dale Henderson said Martin was shot in the knee, but was released from the hospital Thursday night. Meaux remained hospitalized as of Friday morning, but was expected to be released soon, Henderson said.

Meaux has been a teacher for 21 years, while Martin has taught for seven years.

“If my son would be old enough, I would want him to have Ali as an English teacher,” Maturin said. “They are just both phenomenal educators. Jena goes above and beyond to take care of everything in the library and for the kids, and from what I understand, she was an extremely amazing English teacher before she became a librarian.”

Henderson said he was not surprised to hear that the teachers jumped into action when it became clear that a dangerous situation was developing.

“We do a lot of crisis training with our teachers, that maybe it’s become kind of an instinct for them,” Henderson said. “When they sense there is going to be some kind of danger or emergency situation, they go into teacher mode. They protect … They are heroes. They are both excellent teachers, excellent employees and we are so very proud of them and happy they are going to be OK.”

Debbie Meaux, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said she wasn't surprised to hear that teachers may have played a significant role in saving other lives once the shooting began. Debbie Meaux (no relation to Jena Meaux) said educators have come to the rescue of children and adults in other major incidents, including tornadoes and other shootings.

"They are the epitome of what I know to be the character of most teachers in our profession," Debbie Meaux said. "We don't get into this for the money. We get into it for the children, and they are our number one priority. We think about their safety and well-being, both emotional and physical, all the time. We care for and make sure that children are safe every single day."

Debbie Meaux said she believes this event is one that shows the true character of teachers.

"They are people who care about one another, people who care about the children they teach. They care about their communities," she said. "They are probably the best of our public servants. They are heroes every day in small ways."

Henderson said that although both women are expected to make full recoveries, they face a long road ahead.

“This was a hyper-emotional situation that we probably can’t even imagine,” he said. “I’m sure they have some recovery time, both physically and emotionally.”