More than 2,000 petitioners are asking Stratford to rename a street to honor a teacher who was among six educators and 20 children fatally shot in a Newtown elementary school rampage.
The Connecticut Post reports that a petition on Change.org and linked to Facebook asks the Stratford Town Council to change North Parade to Victoria Soto Way. Stratford was the 27-year-old teacher's home town.
Chris Barbee, a graduate of Stratford High School where Soto graduated, said backers of a renamed street want to make sure Soto will never be forgotten.
Mayor John Harkins did not comment to the newspaper, citing respect for the family.
Members of Soto's high school class of 2003 have started a scholarship fund in her name. They also are composing a book called "Letters to Vicki."
Meanwhile, state education officials and a teachers union have announced a website for donations to help Newtown teachers in the aftermath of the shooting.
Contributions received at DonorsChoose.org/Newtown will help Newtown teachers design and pay for classroom projects and materials. Promoters say projects could include books and shelves for a reading area, art supplies or seeds and soil for a memorial garden.
Organizers say the goal is for residents of Connecticut and elsewhere to offer holiday gifts to Newtown's teachers and their students.
Local
The Connecticut Department of Education, Newtown Public Schools and American Federation of Teachers and its Newtown local announced the website.
The parent organization, DonorsChoose.org, was founded in 2000 and has funded more than 328,000 projects in about 46,000 U.S. schools.
