Remote Learning Day In Newtown On Sandy Hook Anniversary

NEWTOWN, CT — Newtown Public Schools will be on a remote learning schedule on Tuesday in observance of the ninth anniversary of the mass killing at Sandy Hook School in 2012.

In a letter to families and staff Wednesday night, Newtown Schools Superintendent Dr. Lorrie Rodrigue wrote that the anniversary is an emotional day for the community, which is often made more difficult from outside influences.

"Aside from the emotion this day evokes, we often have to deal with calls or anonymous threats that raise levels of stress for the entire school community," Rodrigue wrote. "In recent days, schools across the State continue to face threats following the tragedy in Michigan."

The district had to evacuate Sandy Hook School three years ago, Rodrigue said, due to "a threatening call to the main office," and the decision to go with a remote learning schedule is designed to lower the stress level for everyone.

On Dec. 14, 2012, more than two-dozen students and staff at the school were murdered by a gunman, and the district has chosen not to discuss the tragedy with younger students. At the middle and high school levels, the district has offered "age-appropriate messaging in remembrance of the day" and a moment of silence.

The district will use a "compacted" schedule on Tuesday, which will begin an hour later and end an hour earlier. Course work and remote learning details for the day will be shared by school principals Thursday.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of 12/14," Rodrigue wrote. "We know this is a very emotional time of year, and we hope that moving to a remote learning day will relieve some of the anxiety and stress that often accompanies this day."

Click here to read the full text of Rodrigue's letter.