NHS Golfers Compete
Newtown High School’s golf team fell to visiting Masuk of Monroe on April 25, shooting a 173 to Masuk’s 166, at the ...
Esther Chmielewski
A Well-lived Life Of Love And Laughter
Esther Constance Chmielewski, 82, of Bennington, Vt., was born December 20, 1929, died April 29,...
Macaroni Kids Planning Woman’s Night Out
BETHEL — Macaroni Kid Newtown/Monroe/Trumbull/Shelton, along with three other Macaroni Kid edit...
Macaroni Kids Planning Woman’s Night Out
BETHEL — Macaroni Kid Newtown/Monroe/Trumbull/Shelton, along with three other Macaroni Kid edit...
Nature Walk, Garden Talk & Spring Plant Sale:
Busy Week Ahead For Town & Country Garden Club
The Town & Country Garden Club has three public events coming up ...
Nominations Sought For BBB Torch Award
For Marketplace Ethics
WALLINGFORD — Connecticut Better Business Bureau is calling on consumers and busines...
Consigning Democrats To Hell
To the Editor:
My daughter was part of the St Rose confirmation class this year. During her preparation, she asked me why, after al...
Free Comic Book Day Is May 5
Cave Comics will once again host Free Comic Book Day, this year occurring on Saturday, May 5. Cave Comics, in the western half of t...
Newtown Support Groups
Friday, May 4Â Â Â Â
AA, Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road, 8 pm, beginners meeting, open discussion.
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Sa...
America’s Response To The Gathering Storm Of WWII
BROOKFIELD CENTER — On Monday, May 7, at 7:30 pm, the Brookfield Museum and Historical...
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!