Dawn Hochsprung, Heroine

She viewed her school as a model, telling The Newtown Bee in 2010 that “I don’t think you could find a more positive place to bring students to every day.” ^[1]

Dawn Hochsprung began her job at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2010.

Safety first at Sandy Hook… It’s a beautiful day for our annual evacuation drill!; 6:47 AM – 17 Oct 2012

She had worked in other schools in Connecticut. Diane Licata, who had a first and second grader at SHES, said, “She was not the kind of principal I remembered as a kid. She really reached out to the students and made them feel comfortable with her. She definitely took that extra step.” This included dressing up in “goofy costumes” just to make her students smile. Most students view principals as intimidating authority figures. Hochsprung wanted the students to feel comfortable when “approaching the proverbial principal’s office.” [2]

Sock Hop; Reed Intermediate School; April, 2011

Dawn Hochsprung‏ @DHochsprung 16 Nov 2012 The Sandy Hook Book Fairy reads with first graders… Keeping books in our hearts and on our minds!

Dawn Hochsprung created “Wacky Wednesdays” and encouraged students to wear mismatched goofy clothes. At other times, she suggested that students dress up as their favorite storybook characters. Occasionally, she took her poodle to school. She felt that the students would benefit from the use of electronic screens rather than blackboards. The teachers had iPads in the classroom. She organized “Appy Hour” discussion to help the teacher learn how to use the best teaching applications. [3]

Dawn Hochsprung‏ @DHochsprung 4 Dec 2012; 30 Sandy Hook teachers gather for an early morning Appy Hour… sharing the best iPad apps for our classrooms!

Dawn Hochsprung‏ @DHochsprung 12 Dec 2012 Sandy Hook students enjoy the rehearsal for our 4th grade winter concert – a talented group led by Maryrose Kristopik! Some of the members Sandy Hook Chorus and the Children of Newtown Choir sang at the Super Bowl in 2013 [4]

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended the funeral, along with hundreds of mourners who lined up around the corner to pay their respects to the hero principal of the Newtown massacre. [5]

Dawn is survived by her husband George Hochsprung. Dawn and her husband planned to retire in the Adirondacks where they had built a home. [6] Dawn had two daughters, Cristina Lafferty Hassinger and Erica Lafferty and three step daughters, Anne Priest, Amy Lawton and Beth Ewaskiewicz. Her funeral was conducted at the Woodbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere, 2 School Street. There are 971 messages in the Guest Book. [7] She had an open coffin for the viewing. She had been dressed in a green silk dress and black cardigan. Flowers flanked the casket, including a small vase of pink roses from strangers. [8]

Hundreds of mourners wait outside the Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home in Woodbury, Connecticut, on Wednesday, December 19, 2012, to pay their respects to the family of Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung who was slain Friday at her school in Newtown. Hochsprung’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday. (Stephen Dunn/Hartford Courant/MCT)

People arrive for visiting hours for Dawn Hochsprung at the Woodbury Funeral Home on December 19, Getty Images

Mourners gather outside Muson Lovetere Funeral Home for Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung’s –

Members of the Sage Chamber Choir perform the song “Prayer of the Children” during Dawn Hochsprung’s funeral

Mother, I miss you!

Playground dedicated to Sandy Hook principal; Photo: Contributed Photo, Karen L. Wilk/Contributed Photo

A playground in memory of Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung was dedicated on Oct. 5. It was built in Watertown, Connecticut in a matter of days by volunteers with the “Where Angels Play Foundation.”

[1] The Newtown Shooting Victims: Who They Were, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/The-Newtown-Shooting-Victims-Who-They-Were-183658461.html; retrieved 12/13/2017

[2] Sam Dolnick and Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 12/14/2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/sandy-hook-principal-and-school-psychologist-went-the-extra-mile.html; retrieved 12/14/2017

[3] Sam Dolnick and Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 12/14/2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/sandy-hook-principal-and-school-psychologist-went-the-extra-mile.html; retrieved 12/14/2017

[4] Shill Murray, An Actual Expert Weighs In On The Sandy Hook Super Bowl Choir Conspiracy Theory, 11/1/2016, http://www.crisisactorsguild.com/2016/11/01/an-actual-expert-weighs-in-on-the-sandy-hook-super-bowl-choir-conspiracy-theory/; retrieved 12/15/2017

[5] Kerry Wills, Daniel Beekman, Hundreds mourn beloved Newtown principal who died trying to disarm gunman, New York Daily News, 12/20/2012; http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/heroic-newtown-principal-mourned-article-1.1224000; retrieved 12/12/2017

[6] Sam Dolnick and Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 12/14/2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/nyregion/sandy-hook-principal-and-school-psychologist-went-the-extra-mile.html; retrieved 12/14/2017

[7] Dawn Hochsprung, Obituary, News Times, 12/17/2012, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newstimes/obituary.aspx?pid=161773346; retrieved 12/11/2017

[8] Kerry Wills, Daniel Beekman, Hundreds mourn beloved Newtown principal who died trying to disarm gunman, New York Daily News, 12/20/2012; http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/heroic-newtown-principal-mourned-article-1.1224000; retrieved 12/12/2017