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Dakota Midday: Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis "Choosing Hope"

On December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook elementary school teacher Kaitlin Roig began her morning by encouraging first graders to get excited for the day.

Moments later she was stuffing her students into a tiny bathroom, sheltering them while a gunman outside her classroom opened fire. She and her students lived to endure the aftermath of violence, but 20 other students and six teachers did not.

Her book is called "Choosing Hope." She joins Dakota Midday host Lori Walsh to talk about Classes4Classes, about why she wanted to become a teacher, and about how teaching kindness is an appropriate response to evil. 

Kaitlyn Roig visits Sioux Falls on September 10th as part of “Women Ignited by Faith.”

KAITLIN ROIG-DeBELLIS is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Classes 4 Classes, Inc., and an inspirational speaker for teachers and organizations across the country. Previously, she was a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Lori Walsh is the host and senior producer of In the Moment.