Finding Immigrant Ancestors
Who Arrived Through New York City
On Wednesday, March 10, at 7 pm, professional genealogist Penny Hartzell will be the featured spe...
Texting Violation
About 3:15 pm March 2, motorist Lori Lane, 42, of Brewster, N.Y., was driving a 2002 Honda CRV southward near 45 Main Street, just behind...
Ferdinand C. Frassinelli, Jr
A True Gentleman
Ferdinand “Fred” C. Frassinelli, Jr., 84, of Fairfield, formerly of Black Rock, died ...
Winter Guard Holds Extravaganza, Prepares For World Championships
The Newtown Winter Guard program will host its 13th Annual Newtown Winter Guard Extravaganza, ...
Thanks For The Memories
To the Editor:
As a native Newtowner, “The Way We Were” often brings back memories, as did the photo of February...
State Home Prices,
Sales Rise In January
HARTFORD (AP) — A real estate tracking group says sales prices for single-family houses in Connecticut ros...
Vasi’s Gymnasts Compete In International Event
Eight gymnasts from Vasi’s International Gymnastics competitive team traveled to Oklahoma...
Town Sewage Treatment Plant Wins Environmental Quality Award
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the Newtown sewage treatment plant as ...
NYFS To
Welcome
Jerry Nadeau
Newtown Youth & Family Services will host a Perseverance Breakfast Wednesday, March 10, and its guest speaker will be former NASC...
Baked Goods Raised Some Dough For Haiti
By Eliza Hallabeck
Cupcakes, brownies and other goodies helped Reed Intermediate School fifth grader Sage DeSimone raise...
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!