We remember Florida teacher and coach Scott Beigel, who was slain in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Photo credit: runnersworld.com
The community of professional educators is always distressed by the loss of a colleague to campus violence. This is certainly true about Scott Beigel, a teacher and coach who was slain in a school shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018.
After earning his Bachelor’s degree in technical Studies from Farmingdale State College, New York, in 2009, Scott moved to Parkland, Florida, where he accepted a position teaching geography at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He also coached the school’s cross country team. In addition, on his summer vacations Scott worked as a counselor at Starlight Summer Camp in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. During the shooting, Scott is credited for saving the lives of students by unlocking his door and letting students inside the classroom to hide. Unfortunately, the heroic teacher could not escape the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, an expelled student from the high school. Scott, who was only 35 years old at the time of his passing, was one of 17 people fatally wounded by Cruz that day.
Since his tragic passing, Scott is sorely missed. “Thousands of people at Camp Starlight looked up to Scott,” asserted Grant Williams, a summer camp colleague. “He was someone you strive to be like.” Student Thomas Risley agreed. “He cared a lot about his students,” Risley remembers. “I’m going to miss his colorful personality.” Former Douglas High student Cameron Kasky also praised the fallen educator. “Scott’s memory lives in the fact that he was able to positively touch the lives of so many young people,” Kasky remarked. After the attack, Kasky became a student leader in the March for Our Lives gun-control movement.
To honor Scot’s sacrifice, his name has been inscribed on the National Memorial to Fallen Educators sponsored by the National Teachers Hall of Fame located in Emporia, Kansas. A street has also been renamed Scott J. Beigel Way in the Dix Hills area of Long Island, New York, where Scott grew up.