To the Editor:
I whole-heartedly wish to express my support for Mitch Bolinsky as our state representative. In addition to his strong constituent service record...
To The Editor:
While walking through life, especially when living in a small town, one is lucky to meet people who make a difference, people for whom the word "...
To the Editor:
This year, Sandy Hook Village has again gone through a great transformation. The quaint village has always been a community filled with kind-hear...
Your dog could be the next Park and Bark Dog of The Week.
The Newtown Parks & Recreation Department has started an effort through its Newtown Park and Park Face...
Eleanor "Ellie" Keane Dickerson of Newtown died at her home on September 30. She was born in Bridgeport on December 29, 1934, to Eugenia "Ina" and Joseph F. Kea...
Newtown Education Foundation (NEF) President and Board Chair Allyson Story said the 2016-17 academic year is going to be "big" for the group, which held its fir...
To the Editor:
The Pootatuck Watershed Association wishes to thank our friends at CVTU and other volunteers for another successful work day on Deep Brook, Septe...
Over roughly the last two to three years, Head O' Meadow Elementary School community members have helped to raise the approximately $25,000 that the school's PT...
To the Editor:
I've always lumped all political candidates under one ugly umbrella as mean, name calling, finger pointing mudslingers until I had the fortunate ...
To the Editor:
The fall season brings a whirlwind of activities and events from the many charitable organizations in Newtown. It is a reminder of one of the thi...
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!