Report: Augusta teacher dies after dancing in skit for students
An elementary school teacher in Augusta suffered a heart attack and died after performing in a dance skit intended to calm students' nerves before high-stakes testing.
The death of Craig-Houghton Elementary School teacher Patricia Edminster, 53, after a school pep rally Wednesday led officials to postpone Thursday's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, according to The Augusta Chronicle.
The CRCT began across Richmond County on Thursday, but Craig-Houghton officials received permission from the state to postpone the test until Friday.
"There would be no way that these kids would be able to take that test" Thursday, Craig-Houghton Principal Sophia A. Cogle told the Chronicle.
Edminster, a third-grade teacher, had just finished dancing "The Bump" with a group of teachers in a skit for students when she sat down in the bleachers and lost consciousness, the newspaper reported. The school nurse administered CPR before paramedics took Edminster to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where she died.
The pep rally is an annual custom intended, according to the Chronicle, to calm students' nerves and build encouragement a day before the CRCT.
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
