Former Newtown school district employees have submitted a response to the Office of the Child Advocate’s (OCA) 2014 report on the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to state senators, with a request to have it attached to the original report.

The response questions the report’s objectivity, specifics regarding OCA’s key findings, and asks that “in light of the biased and misleading information presented in the OCA report, we respectfully request that a copy of this response be permanently attached to the OCA report as a matter of public record.” It was signed by Former Director of Pupil Services Dr Michael Regan and Former Supervisor of Special Education Janet Calabro.

Dr Regan worked for the district until the end of the 2011-12 school year, and Ms Calabro worked for the district until the end of the 2010-11 school year.

The 22-page written response was submitted to State Senators Kevin Witkos and Henri Martin on October 18. The senators then forwarded the response to the OCA with a letter describing the October 18 meeting with Dr Regan, Ms Calabro, and former Newtown Association of School Administrators President Dr Anthony Salvatore, who, during his time in Newtown, served as assistant principal at Sandy Hook School, Reed Intermediate School, and Newtown Middle School. Dr Salvatore retired after the 2013-14 school year.

The senators’ letter read in part, “In our meeting, it was disturbing to find that the panel charged with writing that report never interviewed [Dr Regan], the director of special education. In addition, it was only based upon the persistent follow up of Janet Calabro, the special education supervisor who handled [Adam Lanza’s] case while he was in school that she was ever interviewed at all.”

The letter went on to say the senators had not “fully absorbed the majority of their rebuttal,” and they were passing it along to the OCA for review.

“An essential element of fair discourse is the opportunity for rebuttal. Because we were never afforded the opportunity to challenge the findings, it was incumbent upon us to exercise the initiative to do so,” a portion of the response’s introduction reads.

In the introduction Ms Calabro and Dr Regan explain they delayed responding to the 2014 report, because like so many others they were “traumatized by the events of that day” and they felt a response at the time “would have been too emotionally driven to be productive in any sense.

“Time has allowed for greater perspective and we believe that our response can now take a more constructive approach intended to inform our collective understanding as a matter of historical record,” they wrote. “We owe this to the 20 students and the six educators who lost their lives on December 14, 2012, and to whom our response is dedicated.”

Ms Calabro and Dr Regan describe in the response being “taken aback” by the 2014 OCA report, “in particular the aspersions cast upon the special education program when our experience indicated otherwise.” Newtown, they explained, has a long history of educational excellence and they are proud of the accomplishments made during their tenures.

“The desire to attribute causation in the aftermath of tragedy is understandable. We all feel safer if we can identify and prevent such acts of violence from occurring in the future. The [OCA] admittedly stated that their report cannot and does not answer the question of ‘why’ [Adam Lanza] committed murder. That notwithstanding, it is our view that the caring and competent educators of Newtown took more than reasonable steps to help a child who presented with anxiety and social deficits in the absence of signs of aggression to master the developmental tasks of childhood. [Adam Lanza] left the Newtown Public Schools with experiences in extra-curricular activities, a successful job placement, and an earned diploma,” the response reads.

OCA Objectivity Questioned

Ms Calabro and Dr Regan went on to question the objectivity of the report’s panel, specifically individuals’ affiliations to Yale University, “which is repeatedly referenced as a primary care provider to [Adam Lanza] in the report’s findings” and that five of the eight panel members “own or [were] employed in full or in part by education consulting firms.” Former Newtown State Representative Christopher Lyddy served as one of the primary authors for the report, and Ms Calabro and Dr Regan also question why Mr Lyddy’s affiliation with Newtown was not included in the report.

“We are concerned that the report’s authors make criticisms about [Adam Lanza’s] educational programming even though the shootings occurred three and a half years after he successfully earned his high school diploma and had exited [Newtown Public Schools],” the response reads.

Later in the response, Ms Calabro and Dr Regan list specific issues they have with key findings in the report.

“The report presents 37 Key Findings. 19 of these findings make references to [Adam Lanza’s] educational services. 16 of these 19 findings can be refuted using information presented in the body of the report. It is our opinion that, in such cases, the authors’ recommendations should in part be considered with careful scrutiny or in whole disregarded,” they wrote.

Dr Salvatore said on October 19 that his roll in submitting the response to the state was based on his former work as the president of the Newtown Association of School Administrators. He researched how to submit such a response, and he facilitated the meeting with the senators. Dr Salvatore said if there had been a state hearing, and there was no hearing to his knowledge, on the 2014 report’s findings, the three former Newtown administrators would have “been sitting in the front row.” During the October 18 meeting with the senators, Dr Salvatore said his trio discussed their personal connection to the information in the report. Newtown continues to be a premier school district, and Dr Salvatore said the report needs to be corrected.

Dr Salvatore said the former administrators do not want an investigation, as they respect the work done by the OCA while disagreeing with some of the reports conclusions.

In the response’s summary, Ms Calabro and Dr Regan point out the most common age for a person to have a psychotic breakdown is when they are in their early 20s.

“Yet, like [Adam Lanza], many of these young adults have graduated from school systems that have provided daily contact with a team of caring and skilled professionals to post-secondary lives where they receive a few hours per month of counseling at best,” the response reads.

Associate Child Advocate Mickey Kramer estimated on October 19 that it would take about three weeks for the OCA to review the response.

“Our hearts are with Newtown. It is our position that our process of review was fact based,” said Ms Kramer, adding that the OCA did its best to be thoughtful and honest when creating the report.

Without having an opportunity to read the response, Ms Kramer said the OCA is dedicated to integrity.

Dr Salvatore said they want to make sure “any generalizations [that] are made are accurate based on the facts.”

The response, he said, looks at inconsistencies in the original report. The three former district employees still think of the Newtown school district as “family,” and he said it is important to them that the district’s integrity and reputation are maintained.

Dr Salvatore said he hopes the administration and staff working in the Newtown school system know they are supported. He also said he hopes the families of the those killed know the victims will never be forgotten.

“This is an attempt to make the record right,” said Dr Salvatore. He added later, “Newtown is too good to take a hit like this... Hopefully it will provide some healing.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue said the Newtown school district administration was not made aware of the response written by former district employees to the OCA report.

Ms Calabro and Dr Regan could not be reached for comment.