Pediatrician’s Journal—
Sore Throats In Children
By Jeff Cersonsky, MD
My son had a sore throat and I took him to his pediatrician, but ...
DANBURY – More than 400 runners took to the streets for the 20th annual Danbury Polar Bear run on Sunday. Joseph LeMay of Danbury finished first at ...
Free Tax Guide On Disabilities
Parents of children with disabilities are entitled to many income tax reductions as “medical expenses,” p...
The Ryan Express
By Kim J. Harmon
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Isn’t it nice, every once in a while, to unearth some pleasant memories of your younger days … unli...
A thick head can do as much damage as a hard heart.
—H.W. Dodds
The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you don’t know anyt...
Newtown Continuing Education Courses
There is still limited space in the following classes Continuing Ed courses:
Computers for the Absolute Beginner, taugh...
By Kim J. Harmon
The image is an indelible one – that of the hapless skier in the intro to The Wide World of Sports stumbling down the run and over ...
Getting The Message Out––
Stroke Is Life-Threatening, Needs Immediate Attention
By Dottie Evans
Dr John M. Murphy of Associated Neurolo...
Unfortunately as voter turnout continues to decline the chances of it increasing also decline. The LC and BOF already know that the budget will be approved by virtue of the low turnout so why try to make smart decisions? The so-called referendum is essentially just a rubber stamp. They will continue to increase the budget by 2-5% every year because it's low enough to not cause a pushback under the cover of "inflation" and "maintaining the schools." Sending the budget to vote with 9% turnout is meaningless and a waste of resources on April 23rd.
I have seen Mr. Pisani repeatedly assert in the pages of the Bee that Newtown schools are "testing at a failing 64.9%". I'd be curious if he could elaborate on this statistic, as I have been unable to verify it independently. Which test exactly is our school system failing? How do our schools compare to other towns? How does our score compare to historical measures? It's very hard to draw conclusions from a single data point, so here are a few more data points to think about for context: Newtown is consistently ranked among the top 20 school districts in CT by the US News and World Report and Niche, which consider a range of performance metrics in their rankings; on average, Newtown students perform similar to, if not better than, students in neighboring school districts on standardized math and reading tests; the only data point on the CT Department of Education District Report Card where Newtown "fails" -- that is, falls behind the state average -- is access to art instruction. I'm glad the council member has acknowledged in this letter what taxpayers in high-performing (and high-spending) school districts like Darien, New Canaan, and Westport already know: "School funding does impact student achievement." Please keep that in mind when you vote this week!