Sandy Hook school opening to public, 4 years after massacre
Source: Associated Press
By PAT EATON-ROBB
Jul. 29, 2016 12:11 PM EDT
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — When the public gets its first glimpse Friday of the school built to replace the one where 20 first-graders and six educators were massacred, they'll see a building designed to be attractive, environmentally friendly, conducive to learning and, above all, safe.
The old Sandy Hook Elementary School was torn down after the gunman's rampage in December 2012. The new $50 million, 86,000-square-foot school was built on the same property but not in the old footprint, and is scheduled to open next month. A media tour will precede a public open house on Friday.
Local officials hope that allowing everyone a look at the school this week will give students a "quiet, respectful, and appropriate opening as teachers and students return to the new school year," on Aug. 29, Superintendent Joseph Erardi said.
The new school, funded by a state grant, has safety features such as impact-resistant windows and state-of-the-art video monitoring. Its ground floor is elevated, making it harder to see inside classrooms from the outside. It has been landscaped to ensure anyone approaching the school is visible to those inside and can enter via one of three pedestrian bridges that cross the landscaping.
It has been built to invoke nature, with treehouses and courtyards.
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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c8def31120c34b228741f661556ab8a4/sandy-hook-school-opening-public-4-years-after-massacre