Summer Camps Offer
Smiles Across Newtown
A number of children climbed ladders, slipped down slides, and passed balls at Treadwell Park on Monday, July 2, as pa...
Kyle Packer, a 2011 Newtown High School graduate and the son of Eileen and Howard Packer of Newtown, has received an appointment to the United States Naval ...
Sandy Hook Woman
Part Of A Catalyst For Change
By Nancy K. Crevier
Sandy Hook resident Tatiana Cook wants her three children to understand that there are peopl...
John E.
Wrabel III
John E. Wrabel III, 92, died peacefully in the Fairfield home that he built more than 60 years ago and in which he raised his family with hi...
Another Great Parish Carnival
At St Rose
To the Editor:
On behalf of Saint Rose Parish, I want to thank everyone who supported and attended our Annual Parish ...
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Opponents of the proposed jail site in Newtown will have no say in the state’s choice of one of six regional sits — and all the fact...
Lions Honor NHS Students
The Newtown Lions Club recently gave out its Trull Leo of the Year Award and the William A. Honan Award to three outstanding students a...
A Sad Day
To the Editor:
The last day of school and the beginning of summer are usually uplifting events, but this year there was great sadness as it also marke...
Patricia Ellen Schultz
Patricia Ellen Schultz, 63, of Bumpass, Va., and formerly of Sandy Hook, died June 29, at her home. She was the wife of Richard Schultz. ...
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!