No one guessed the location shown in last week’s Bees Buck so the prize goes up. The fourth caller with the correct answer this week will win $10. T...
WAL Call
For Entries
WATERBURY — Watertown Art League’s 19th Annual Spring Art Show will be held at Post University’s Trauri...
Joint Camp At St Vincent’s
BRIDGEPORT — St Vincent’s Medical center is presenting a Joint Camp information session on Monday...
Cub Scout Pack 270 Seeks New Members
Cub Scout Pack 270 will hold a recruitment night to welcome new members on Wednesday, May 11, at 7 pm, in the Middle Gate S...
Fresh Air Fund Hosts Needed
Each summer, many Newtown area mothers become Fresh Air moms, as they open their hearts to New York City children through The Fresh ...
Commentary—
There’s Only One Answer To The Budget Crisis
By William A. Collins
Money
’s short,
No place to axe;
...
Seeking Nominees For Gail Smith And Outstanding Youth Awards
Newtown Youth Services is currently seeking nominations for its annual Gail Smith Awards. Each year...
DCO &
DPSO Concert
DANBURY — The 75-piece Danbury Community Orchestra will be joined by 45 members from Danbury Preparatory String Orchestra for a ...
Board Tables Proposed Math Texts Pending Further Review
By Susan Coney
Deciding that more review was needed, the Board of Education Tuesday tabled proposals to ...
Where Are The Polls?
To The Editor:
I got a bit miffed on April 26, when I was about to go vote. Apparently, the various signs and notices I had received regard...
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!