Teacher saves choking colleague

Cody Lapp works as both a teacher and a Jones Beach lifeguard, and as of last month, he can say he’s saved a life at each job.

Lapp, a Seaford resident and a teacher at Northside Elementary School in Levittown, saved a choking colleague on Feb. 12. His heroic actions earned him recognition at last week’s Board of Education meeting.

The incident occurred in a fourth-grade classroom. Lapp was working with a small group of students on reading instruction, and noticed teacher assistant Gerri Butler getting a snack. He looked up again a few seconds later, and this time he noticed that something wasn’t right. Butler put her hands to her throat, indicating that she was choking, and pointed to the door. Lapp followed her out in the hallway, where, using abdominal thrusts, he helped Butler dislodge a piece of grapefruit.

“He was extremely calm, like it was no big deal,” Butler said, adding that his demeanor kept her calm as well. Her biggest concern, she said, was that the children knew what was going on.

Once Butler was breathing normally again, Lapp gave her a drink of water and brought her a chair so she could sit down. The classroom teacher also came out to help, while another teacher nearby called the school nurse.

Butler rested for a while in the nurse’s office, and Lapp went right back to teaching. “It’s a great feeling,” he said of being able to step up in a critical situation. “Gerri’s a good friend of mine, and I’m just glad that she’s OK.”

Lapp, 27, grew up in Levittown and attended Summit Lane Elementary School and Wisdom Lane Middle School before graduating from Division Avenue High School in 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in phys. ed. and health, and a master’s in elementary and special education with a concentration in autism, both from LIU Post.

This is his third year at Northside. He began his career there as a permanent substitute, then was given a teaching position to support second- through fifth-graders in reading and math. Recently he took over for a teacher on leave. He spends half the school day as a resource-room teacher and the other half as an inclusion teacher in a fourth-grade classroom, which is where he was when he saved Butler’s life.

Principal Frank Mortillaro said that Lapp was one of two finalists for the job. “He just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Mortillaro said. “There’s a reason for everything.”

Mortillaro said that once the intensity of the moment has passed, he realized the gravity of the situation, and that a potential tragedy had been avoided. It was then that he sought to have Lapp recognized by the board. On March 4, Mortillaro spoke of the teacher’s heroic actions, and trustees and central administrators shook Lapp’s hand.

“I couldn’t be more proud as a building administrator,” Mortillaro said. “He deserved to be honored.”

Board of Education President Peggy Marenghi described Lapp as a “great role model for our district.”

Lapp became a lifeguard when he was 18 for the Town of Hempstead, working at the Acorn Lane pool. He also worked for Nassau County at the Eisenhower Park pool, and has spent the past seven summers at Jones Beach State Park. “Beach and teach, they go hand in hand,” he said.

Whether it has been pulling someone from the water, treating someone who passed out from heat exhaustion or dealing with an injury, Lapp estimates he has helped at least 30 people through his lifeguarding jobs. In order to remain a certified lifeguard, Lapp must be retrained in CPR and first aid every year.

Even though he now lives in Seaford, he still lives in the district, and hopes to stay in Levittown for a long time, specifically at Northside. He wants to continue working in special education, as he said he believes he can be a positive role model for the students.

His principal, and his colleagues, want him to stay as well. “I know if would have been worse if Cody wasn’t there,” said Butler, who added that she won’t be eating grapefruit for a while. “He did perfect.”