HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The president of the Newtown teachers union says his members felt rushed to return to the classroom after the deadly 2012 mass shooting.
Tom Kurkowski, president of the Newtown Federation of Teachers, appeared Friday before the governor’s Sandy Hook Advisory Commission. He said other school districts that have experienced similar events gave their teachers time to get the thorough training they needed to help children returning to school.
Kurkowski 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.”
Kurkowski also expressed concerns that federal grant funding to improve school security was delayed until this June. But he praised the availability of mental health services for teachers.
The commission is wrapping up work on its recommendations.
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