WALLINGFORD -- Theresa Winkel is on administrative leave after Wallingford school district leaders discovered she was convicted of a DUI and serving a prison sentence during summer vacation.
Winkel, 53, is a fifth-grade teacher at Parker Farms Elementary School.
According to police documents, Winkel was arrested for driving under the influence on the night of August 31, 2014. Police say she sideswiped a police car, stopped, and then drove off, at which point she was later pulled over and failed a field sobriety test.
According to the Department of Correction, Winkel checked into York Correctional Institute for Women in Niantic on June 24, 2016 to serve 120 days. She was released under transitional supervision on August 23, 2016.
Police documents say Winkel informed officers that she had been involved in a prior DUI during her 2014 traffic stop.
Wallingford School District leaders say they were made aware of the situation during the summer while Winkel was incarcerated but they couldn't find out more information because she was in jail. They waited for the court case to finish.
As soon as school resumed this week, Winkel was interviewed and immediately placed on paid administrative leave.
School district leaders say they don't know why it took Winkel so long to report her arrest.
