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GREENWICH, Conn. Shelley Somers will return to her position as principal of Central Middle School Thursday morning, district officials announced Wednesday evening. The move follows a probe into allegations involving her actions at an upstate day care center 15 years ago.
Somers, who was named Central principal in January 2010, previously worked at the Cornflakes Day Care Center in East Granby. She took a leave of absence after a 1996 Hartford Courant story surfaced reporting that she was accused of leaving a sleeping child alone in a van for 45 minutes while other children from the day care center attended a stage performance. The story also said a toddler ingested Advil while in Somers care.
At the time, Somers made an agreement with the Cornflakes Day Care Center to resign and give up her license. Under the agreement, she neither admitted guilt nor denied the allegations.
When the story broke in Greenwich Time on Oct. 6, the district asked Somers to explain the incidents. She was also asked to take a leave of absence while the district investigated.
In a letter to Central Middle School parents sent out Wednesday evening, Interim Superintendent Roger Lulow said documents from the Connecticut Department of Health contained nothing to refute the account Somers gave to school officials prior to her leave.
Ms. Somers has acknowledged making a mistake, Lulow said in the letter. She has already paid a high price for that mistake. Since that time she has had an exemplary career as an educator and has garnered the support of the Central Middle School community and her colleagues in the Greenwich Public Schools. Therefore, we trust that you will join us in welcoming her back to Central.
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