MONROE, Conn. — Traumatized Sandy Hook Elementary kids will return to “ the safest school in America” tomorrow, when they go to to class for the time since since last month’s massacre, officials said.
Sandy Hook staffers walked through their temporary digs at Chalk Hill School in nearby Monroe this morning and met with Gov. Dan Malloy in advance of tomorrow’s big day.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Adam Lanza slaughtered his mother, 20 little kids and six adults in a Newtown school, before killing and himself.
Monroe police Lt. Keith White said there’ll be a noticeable law enforcement presence, including cops from neighboring towns, when kids arrive tomorrow.
“Right now it has to be the safest school in America,” White said. “Most of Monroe schools were already monitored at the police department with cameras. We’ve actually installed numerous security devices at this school and we are [keeping] our presence on location until further notice.”
Some kids and parents were expected to show up this afternoon to take a tour of the middle school-turned-combo campus before instruction begins tomorrow.
“A great deal of thought and effort and volunteer work [made] this as seamless as possible,” Newtown schools superintendent Janet Robinson said.
“At one point there were 80 people in the building, cleaning up the building, doing different kinds of things, painting, to make it really look cheerful and happy. There are pictures up. Right now, Chalk Hill has been transformed from a middle school to a very cheerful, nurturing elementary school.”
Robinson said teachers and staff at Clark Hill have been so welcoming, they even changed the school’s sign outside to read “Sandy Hook School.”
“It took a great deal of stress off our teachers to have all this work done,” she said.
“The children are coming in. They’re so excited to see their teachers. The students coming in completes a circle. That’s what’s missing right now, is getting our students back.”
Mental health professionals are scheduled to be available tomorrow when kids arrive.
“We’re very happy the kids are going back and we’re very thankful for Monroe for everything they’ve done for us,” Sandy Hook parent Robert Bazuro said.
Officials hope the Newtown kids can get back into some sense of a normal routine.
“We want to get back to teaching and learning,” Robinson said. “We will obviously take time out from the academics for any conversations that need to take place, and there will be a lot of support there. All in all, we want the kids to reconnect with their friends and classroom teachers, and I think that’s going to be the healthiest thing.”
Additional reporting by Post Wire Services and David K. Li in New York