Sandy Hook Elementary School

Rejecting the "New Normal" of Gun Violence

Fri, 11/18/2022 - 5:30pm
For public school students and the teachers and education personnel who provide and support their learning, active shooter drills have become routine. Tiffany Moyer-Washington (in photo, below), a capstone and English Electives educator at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy in a recent op-ed spoke for many of her colleagues in demanding better. The Hartford Federation of Teachers union member urges action because “this is not the world we want to live in:”
 

Sending Hope and Taking Action on Gun Violence

Wed, 05/25/2022 - 1:30pm
Members of our AFT Connecticut-affiliated local unions representing educators and support staff in Newtown Public Schools relive the Sandy Hook massacre with each school shooting headline. Yesterday's incident in Texas closely mirrors their own horror, in which six of their colleagues and 20 of their students were in December, 2012 slain. Trent Harrison, a science educator at the town's high school and president of our Newtown Federation of Teachers, captured his colleagues' emotions in an open letter to the nation:
 

Comments on the State Auditors' Review of the Sandy Hook Workers Aid Fund

Thu, 12/05/2019 - 11:30am
State and local AFT leaders today made the following public remarks in response to the Auditors of Public Accounts' (APA) December 4 letter regarding the Sandy Hook Workers Assistance Program (SHWAP):
 

Demanding Responsible School Safety Solutions, Not More Guns

Thu, 10/18/2018 - 4:30pm
State Senator Michael McLachlan last week outraged educators when he embraced President Donald Trump’s proposal to militarize the nation's schools. At a forum hosted by the Northern Fairfield County Association of REALTORS in Danbury, the incumbent Deputy Minority Leader answered "yes" when asked if he supports requiring firearms for teachers. His position has angered union members in McLachlan's district, which includes Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield, and Sherman, and across Connecticut, who expect their elected officials to make better policy choices.
 

"U & I in Union:" Helping Members "Get Through a Tragedy"

Fri, 08/31/2018 - 5:30pm
The labor movement's founding principle of mutual assistance provides working people both a sense of obligation and source of consolation. That is particularly the case following episodes of workplace violence, when values like support, solidarity and resilience are needed most. We're bringing attention to a PreK-12 teacher who has stepped forward to comfort educators impacted by gun violence and amplified her voice to prevent future senseless tragedies.
 

Fifth Anniversary of the Sandy Hook Tragedy

Thu, 12/14/2017 - 10:45am
The Newtown community is this week honoring the 26 children and educators who lost their lives on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In a first official local commemoration since the tragedy, a photo display paying tribute to each of the victims has been installed at the town's municipal center. Leaders of our affiliated union representing the district's teachers yesterday gathered to observe the exhibit and remember their brave colleagues who five years ago today died protecting their students.
 
Click here for press coverage of the photo display.
 

"Say Something" to Prevent Another Tragedy

Fri, 10/23/2015 - 12:00pm
AFT Connecticut has joined our colleagues in the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) and the Connecticut Federation of School Administrators (CFSA) to support teaching students how to better recognize warning signs of violence. Last week our unions, along with additional education advocates, endorsed the "Say Something" program offered by Sandy Hook Promise, a national organization dedicated to safer, healthier schools and communities.
 
Click here to learn more about the initiative.
 

Comments on Newtown Teacher's Service on Sandy Hook Advisory Commission

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 4:30pm
Melodie Peters, president of AFT Connecticut, made the following remarks today after the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission's meeting to present its final report to Conn. Governor Dannel P. Malloy:
 

Two Years After Tragedy, Newtown Still Needs Help

Fri, 12/05/2014 - 1:30pm
Mental health services must be sustained in Newtown so that people can continue the long, hard work of reclaiming their lives, a group of teachers who worked at Sandy Hook Elementary told AFT national, state and local leaders just days before the anniversary of the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting that killed 20 children and six educators at the school.
 

AFT's Weingarten to Visit Newtown

Mon, 12/01/2014 - 11:30am
Washington -- American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten will visit with Newtown teachers and other school employees privately on Tuesday, hold a media availability with Newtown Federation of Teachers President Tom Kuroski and AFT Connecticut First Vice-President Steve McKeever, and present a commemorative piece of art at the evening school board meeting.
 
 
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