Abby Zwerner, a 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia was shot in the hand and chest on Jan. 6 as she sat at a reading table in her classroom. She spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has had four surgeries since the shooting.

A whopping 53% of high school teachers are seeing concerning levels of financial illiteracy among their students. One reason is that the percentage of teens working has plummeted.

It has been a tough time for superintendents but a recent wave of new hires could bring back some energy to an education system facing a range of challenges.

“I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me,” first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner said during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie about the student. “It’s changed me. It’s changed my life.”