The Structural Rebuild of Sandy Hook, One Critical Decision at a Time

My entry point as the superintendent in Newtown, Conn., came 13 months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December 2012.

There was no superintendent’s blueprint for the critical construction work that was yet to commence. Therefore, I opted to fall back on a skillset that had served me well for decades as a school district leader — be honest, be prepared, and surround myself with the most knowledgeable team that I could assemble to ensure the success of building a new $50 million school. (This entire project was gifted to the town by the Connecticut legislature.)

When I started with the district, Sandy Hook was temporarily located at an unused school site in the neighboring town of Monroe, which was an enormous part of the recovery and solution. In the tragedy’s aftermath, the doors of the old Sandy Hook never reopened for children. Ultimately, the school was leveled, and the same site became the location for the new school.

Unyielding Commitment

I held on to three principles during the rebuilding process:

• Always keep the impacted families informed and, when appropriate, ask for their insight and opinion;
• Work in partnership with the Newtown Public Building and Site Commission as they would lead the design and reconstruction as per town charter; and
• Attend as many meetings as possible regarding the reconstruction, as the project remained the focus of the community, state and country.

The leadership team had an unyielding commitment to the project. The district’s director of operations was one of the many heroes in Newtown as he found a delicate balance between the project’s technical needs and the sensitivity of community. The district’s director of security reached out to top safety experts nationwide, who were major contributors to the security decisions that had to be made for Sandy Hook. The outside expertise ensured an infrastructure of both technical and tactical safety.

The rebuilding was so much more than a brick-and-mortar process, as the project represented many different things to many different people.

How often do a facility project’s architect, construction manager, town leaders, school leaders, community members and the building oversight committee all truly own the outcome? This is what moved the project in such a powerful way. Voices were sought, heard and appreciated as the concept of the community school took shape as a magnificent place to teach and to learn.

Relentless Pursuit

I was relentless with those better versed than I to construct a building that would be presented as a warm and nurturing school — and be the safest school in our country with proactive security measures throughout. I was relentless in ensuring staff members’ voices be heard and that our Sandy Hook administration hold the final vote on spaces intended for teaching and learning.

Finally, I was relentless in ensuring the opening day of the 2016-17 school year would not be the first time anyone walked into the new school. We held open house on multiple days over multiple weeks throughout the preceding summer.

Opening the new Sandy Hook Elementary School was one of the most complex tasks I’ve confronted during my 40-year career. The complexity centered around the numerous decisions that were atypical of a building project. My greatest concerns were that those families who had experienced a tragic loss were kept informed and their questions answered honestly and promptly throughout the process, and that no one would ever lose sight of the 20 children and six adults who were brutally killed on Dec. 14, 2012.

It was a very special opening. I was blessed to work with an extraordinary team and equally blessed to work with the impacted families. They will always be with me well beyond my Newtown years.