MORRISTOWN, N.Y. — The world lost a beautiful, eccentric soul the morning of April 28.
William Robert Armstrong, 44, of 412 Main Street and 1123 Hooker Street, ...
Occupation: I am a business owner, registered nurse, and graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University pursuing my master’s degree as a family n...
Each week we compile a list of some of the most-read stories published at newtownbee.com. Here is a roundup of the week’s recent top stories, based on the numbe...
UPDATE (Monday, May 10, 2021): Newtown Police have announced Kathleen Cattano has been found, "and is in good health," according to their Facebook page.
...
Beverly (Bosselait) Ligouri, age 85, of Southbury, beloved wife of the late Thomas Ligouri, passed away on May 4, at Danbury Hospital.
The daughter of Adelard a...
Start preparing grocery lists now: the Newtown Farmers Market is set to open for the season on Tuesday, June 15.
Natalie McCraigh of Wonderland Jam — a market m...
To the Editor:
When will President Biden learn, also his advisers, and the majority of Americans, it took only took three states to be infected with coronavirus...
To the Editor:
When Haudenosaunee/Iroquois say warrior, they mean one who carries the burden of the bones of the people.
Trudy Ray Lamb Richmond was many things...
To the Editor:
In early April, Newtowners on social media rallied around a hawk that had been cruelly shot with an arrow. In one online post, 614 of us “liked” ...
There is plenty to read at newtownbee.com, but so much more information to be found in print. If you read the print edition of The Newtown Bee, or subscribe, yo...
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!