Conn. School Shootings Send Ripple Effects to Districts Nationwide

Connecticut State Police lead children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., following the shooting on Dec. 14.

—Shannon Hicks/Newtown Bee/AP

By Nirvi Shah

Three days after the deadliest K-12 school shooting in American history, state and district education leaders across the country are reviewing security measures, increasing police presence, and grappling with how to answer students’ questions about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the Newtown, Conn., district.

In Connecticut, Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor said his agency sent letters to superintendents statewide Sunday evening with a list of written prompts for classroom teachers to help them address the shooting in Newtown with their students, the Associated Press reported.

“In many instances, teachers will want to discuss the events because they are so recent and so significant, but they won’t necessarily know how to go about...