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Teaching twins hailed as 'heroes' for saving child
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Twin brothers Brian and Eric Hart both received the Butterfly Award during Thursday night's Ceres School Board meeting.

Brian, a second-grade teacher, and Eric, a site-to-site P.E. instructor, saved a child's life during recess at La Rosa Elementary School on Nov. 2. The Harts rushed to the aid of a first-grade student that was choking on a pretzel.

Brian performed the Heimlich maneuver.

Eric happened to be on campus at the time and assisted.

"The Heimlich wasn't working because he was so small," Brian said. "I held him up while Eric hit his back. It dislodged the food from his throat."

"We jumped into action," said Eric Hart. "Being brothers worked out. We stayed calm. We've fed off each other our whole lives."

CUSD Superintendent Scott Siegel said the brothers' quick action was deserving of recognition by school board trustees.

"It was a tandem effort," noted Principal Lori Mariani. "They're great guys. They have a good rapport with the kids."

Brian played down the honor, saying "any other teacher would have done the same thing."

Added Eric: "Being a P.E. teacher, I've been trained in CPR every year. You hope you never have to use it."