Jean A. Silvestro, 81, of Sandy Hook died July 2 at home, surrounded by her loving family. She was born July 7, 1932, in Westport, daughter of Amy and Michael G...
A former Legislative Council chairman who helped direct Newtown’s last Charter Revision Commission and the individual who helped draft the original Charter in 1...
Each letter was precise. Each name inscribed at the Newtown Municipal Center honored a veteran serviceman or woman from Newtown who has served in the military i...
Diane Thompson was attracted to the old home’s charm.
The 1899 Victorian at 54 Main Street, with its quaint front porch ideal for sitting and sipping iced tea o...
The Sandy Hook Promise Foundation Community Fund will host the 2014 second annual Newtown Yoga Festival on Saturday, August 23. The event will run from 9 am to ...
It is turning into “a banner year,” said Friends of C.H. Booth Library Book Sale Volunteer Toni Earnshaw of the CD, DVD, and even sci-fi/mystery book sections o...
Members of Newtown Kindness, a nonprofit group that formed to honor the memory of one of the children who died 12/14, is spreading the spirit of “giftivism.”
A ...
Several hundred members of Grace Family Church gathered for a garden party on the afternoon of Sunday, June 29, at the church’s scenic property at 4 Covered Bri...
On Sunday, June 29, at Curtis Packaging in Sandy Hook, members of the public at a reception viewed a sculpture commemorating those who were killed in the Sandy ...
James A. Connelly, Jr, 44, of the Westville section of New Haven, formerly of Newtown, died peacefully at his home July 2, with his faithful German shepherd, Ma...
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!