MUST RUN 4-6
BRIMFIELD PROMOTERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SHOW DATES
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BRIMFIELD, MASS. — The Brimfield Show Promoters’...
‘A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER’ WILL BE MAY 10AT ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM
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ALLENTOWN, PENN. — The Allentown Art Museum w...
‘Philosophy Of Time Travel’
 At Studio Museum Harlem
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MUST RUN 4-6
‘PHILOSOPHY OF TIME TRAVEL’ AT STUDIO MUSE...
‘Powerful Hand Of George Bellows’
 At Pittsburgh’s Frick Art Museum
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 ‘POWERFUL HAND OF GEORGE BELLOWSâ...
FOR 4-6
ELENA DORFMAN: FANDOMANIA AT EDWYNN HOUK
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NEW YORK CITY — Edwynn Houk Gallery will offer an exhibition of Elena Dorfman...
FOR 4-6
ERIC ZENER AT GALLERY HENOCH
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NEW YORK CITY — Eric Zener’s recent paintings will be exhibited at Gallery He...
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A French Charles X period mahogany and leather two-seat sofa in the style of George Jacob, decorated with Egyptian heads, will be in the booth of N...
FOR 4-6
SKOWHEGAN SCHOOL ANNOUNCES 2007 ARTS AWARD RECIPIENTS
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NEW YORK CITY — The Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture wi...
Iron working was an important trade in Connecticut, from the individual blacksmith working at his forge in the Eighteenth Century to the industrialized foundrie...
Newtown schools have degraded over the 3+ decades I've lived here as the concentrated social experiment curricula driven by the state and small but loud groups. Yet we continue to dig into our pockets while we witness the downward spiral.
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!