Colleagues of a woman hired as the new principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School say she has the skills and the experience to help it recover from last December's tragedy.

The selection of Kathleen Gombos was unanimously approved by the Board of Education. She will become the Sandy Hook principal on July 1.

Gombos has been principal of the RMT Johnson School in Bethel. Bethel schools superintendent Kevin Smith tells The News Times of Danbury (bit.ly/12xRI1y) he is proud she is willing to help the Sandy Hook community as it recovers from Dec. 14 school shooting.

Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung was among six educators killed by the gunman who also massacred 20 first-grade children on Dec. 14 after shooting his way into the school.