The name Sandy Hook Elementary School is one that will conjure up images of horror for most Americans-but officials want it to be a place of hope and happiness.
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The 59 first-graders who survived the Sandy Hook Massacre will not be returning to the new school as they and the rest of their class, 79 students total, are moving up to the fifth-grade at Reed Intermediate School.
In the years since the massacre, Sandy Hook students have been attending school in neighboring Monroe, which renovated a previously closed elementary school after the shooting.
On Friday, the public got a glimpse of the new school. The school was demolished after the tragedy. The school has been rebuilt and bears no trace of the old building where an armed man entered the school and killed 26 people, 20 of which were children. Erardi requested privacy during the school’s first day on August 29.
Prospective parents and the media were given a chance to look around the old school’s $US50m replacement, which is on the same spot but is built to a different footprint. “However, a rebuild that is under-penned with integrity, best for children, and an absolute, relentless pursuit to make tomorrow a better day than today”.
According to officials, the $50 million cost for the new school was paid for by the state. It was funded by a state grant. Principal Kathy Gombos said she expects the move to the new building to be emotional.
The gymnasium of the newly constructed Sandy Hook Elementary School is unveiled by officials in Newtown, Connecticut, U.S. July 29, 2016. “Our focus was always, always to bring our students and teachers home”.
It will not have a prominent memorial to the Sandy Hook victims, and Erardi declined to say whether they will be remembered in some other way.
Because of retirements and transfers, only about half the staff members from the original Sandy Hook are still with the school, he said. But just because the new school is such a nice change doesn’t mean the thought of the old school doesn’t remain. “Its powerful goal was never lost on us”, said Matthew Consigli, president of Consigli Construction Co., Inc.
Project architect Alana Konefal led journalists on a tour of the school, which features a distinct facade that’s an homage to the town.
Julia McFadden, an architect who also helped design the school, said there is a duck theme throughout the school.
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None of them witnessed the shootings, which were heard throughout the school, prompting students to hide where they could in their classrooms until the building was cleared by police.
