President of Newtown Teachers Union Tells Sandy Hook Advisory Commission Teachers Felt Rushed to Return to Work After Shooting

Written by Wendy Mitchell

A 16-member panel of experts met Friday morning in Hartford to review policies and make recommendations on public and school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention.

The president of the Newtown teachers union, Tom Kuroski, spoke before the Commission telling them teachers felt rushed to return to work after the school shootings in December of 2012, WTNH News reported.

Kuroski said a “one-day workshop, where our input wasn’t even listened to, was not something that we thought was moving us in the right direction.”

Students returned to classes at Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe on Thursday, January 3, 2013, three weeks after the school shootings. Newtown Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson required Sandy Hook School staff to return prior to the opening of the new school to be ready for students.

Kuroski said other school districts that experienced such a tragedy gave teachers sufficient time to get the training they needed to help their students adjust after returning to school, according to WTNH News. Kuroski voiced other concerns about the delay of federal grant funding to improve school security.

Governor Dannel Malloy created the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission in order to review current policies and make specific recommendations in the areas of public safety. The panel pays particular attention to school safety, mental health, and gun violence prevention. Information on the group can be found online at www.ct.gov/SHAC.

Photo: Patch file photo.