DANBURY — Presenting a fairy tale like no other, Musicals at Richter has chosen Shrek The Musical for its 100th production.
Marking this impressive milestone wi...
MONROE — NewArts will present Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, the Broadway and West End phenomenon, August 2-11 at Masuk High School in Monroe.
Inspired by th...
To the Editor:
As we approach today’s tax deadline of August 1, I cannot help but recall the comedy show of the past several months of the yearly budget process...
Occupation: I’m retired. I worked for 42 years in what started out as Allied Container Company in Newtown, then it became Union Camp. In 1998, the plant was...
Following discussion at a July 18 public hearing, Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) members approved some changes to vehicle parking regulations as they specif...
The second week of Newtown Continuing Education’s SMART (Summer Music and Art) Camp, July 22 to 26, offered a range of classes for students to take.
The camp is...
Occupation: I just started my own business in February of this year. It’s called Build Up Advisory Group, which is an advisory firm that specializes in infr...
The dispatchers at the Newtown Emergency Communications Center at Town Hall South at 3 Main Street report the following fire calls and the responders:
Friday, J...
Toyota Vs Toyota
Police report a two-vehicle accident on southbound South Main Street, near Pecks Lane, about 5:47 pm on July 30.
Motorist Natalie Cowley, ...
Gilroy, California leaders have declared that they will not let the July 28 shooting that killed three and injured more than a dozen others at the annual Garlic...
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!