Please Adopt Us!
Rufus (left) is a very handsome 18-month old red Chow Chow mix. He is very smart and learned basic obedience commands quickly. He will walk nic...
Holcombe House Is Getting There
To the Editor:
Two weeks ago Jane and I had planned to host a public open house at our new home and bed and breakfast, The Dana...
Military Kennel Taking Shape At Fairfield Hills
By Andrew Gorosko
Some of the soldiers who will staff it last week toured the Connecticut Army National Guardâ&...
It is time to start thinking about the fall.
Newtown High School fall sports tryouts are just around the corner and all students anticipating trying out for a t...
Rosenthal Awaits Discrimination Complaint Investigation
By Andrew Gorosko
The chairman of Board of Fire Commissioners declined comment this week on the first se...
Kevin’s Community Fundraiser A Success
By Susan Coney
Kevin’s Community Center with the help of Newtown Car Wash held a successful fundr...
Poverty Hollow
Police said they spotted motorist Thomas Collentine, 38, of New Milford driving a 1996 Mercury Tracer southward on Poverty Hollow Road at 55...
Sherman Players Casting For Fall
SHERMAN — The Sherman Players will hold auditions for Attracting Hummingbirds on Monday and Tuesday, August 8 an...
A Look Into Newtown’s Past:
An Opportunity At Booth Library
By Shannon Hicks
The opening of “Passport To Newtown’s Pastâ...
Summer Poetry
At Long Wharf Theatre
NEW HAVEN — Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Michael Stotts have an...
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!