Please Adopt Us!
MIDNIGHT (top, left) is a young black lab pit mix. She is friendly and fine with cats., but wants to be the only dog and will be a devoted comp...
Senior services for Newtown seniors are available at the Multi-Purpose Building on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. The Senior Center is under the auspices of The ...
In the band rooms at Newtown schools students are moistening reeds, rosining bows, and warming up their pipes. The Music Department’s Winter Concert...
If the soccer and baseball fields are closed for the winter, that can only mean one thing – the pool is open and the Newtown Torpedoes are ready for...
Waldemar D. Purat
WWII Army Veteran
Waldemar D. Purat, 84, of Hazleton, Penn., beloved husband of the late Pauline E. (Tokash) Purat, died November 20 at h...
Fourth Annual Young Writers’ Salon At Booth Library
The Fourth Annual Young Writers’ Salon for ‘tweens and teens who like to...
Occupation: I am the assistant company manager at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, and I am a volunteer with the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps. I am the...
New Milford Hospital Posts December Activities
December 1, 15: Chair Yoga 10:30 to 11:30 am with Trish McDonald, RN. Relaxation techniques for cancer patients a...
Lawsuit Sparks Political Speculation
By Kendra Bobowick
Business owner Matthew DeAngelis, who filed the civil lawsuit against the Town of Newtown and a handful ...
‘Messiah’ Sing-In
NEW HAVEN — On Sunday, December 10, at 2 pm, Fenno Heath will present a Messiah sing-in at The First Churc...
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!