Former longtime Newtown resident Leslie Hudson-Tolles will have a one-woman exhibit of her paintings at Koenig FrameWorks, April 26-May 31.
Ms Hudson-Tolles mov...
Families United in Newtown (FUN) will present a night of classical music on Saturday, April 27, starting at 7:30 pm, at Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Chur...
Paul Bastiaanse and Dan Hern of Valley Restoration in Torrington were above it all, Tuesday morning, April 16, as they repaired the stem and set a new gilded ba...
In response to the tragic events in Boston on April 15, the Town of Newtown is providing a space for the community to have an opportunity to gather for support,...
Newtown resident and franchise advisor Bill Brimmer will speak about entrepreneurship and business ownership at C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, on Tuesday, ...
HARTFORD — Winner of England’s 2010 Oliver Award, and a Broadway success when it starred Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop is ...
The Animal Center of Newtown will host a Spring Adoption Event for Dogs on Saturday, April 20.
The event will be at Your Healthy Pet, 224 South Main Street, and...
HARTFORD – Governor Dannel P. Malloy, following a proclamation from President Barack Obama, has ordered US and Connecticut flags to fly at half-staff in honor o...
The Newtown Police Department and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have scheduled a prescription drug take-back session for 10 am to 2 pm on Saturda...
Families United in Newtown (FUN) will present a night of classical music on Saturday, April 27, starting at 7:30 pm, at Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Chur...
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!