To the Editor:
May I commend to your prayer list, the names of two faithful servants of God and compassionate friends to so many. Both died within the past two ...
The Genealogy Club of Newtown will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, February 11, in the meeting room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown.
The me...
A good measure of the crime deterrence of police on patrol stems from their high visibility both in their vehicles and on foot.
During the past few years, town ...
The Genealogy Club of Newtown will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, February 11, in the meeting room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown.
The me...
Carol M. Jaeckel, 85, died January 31 in Danbury, of natural causes. She was born July 21, 1929, in Bayonne, N.J., the daughter of Rudolph and Rose Kunze Carnat...
Bart Henderson, 52, of Newtown, loving father to Lucy Henderson, died in his home February 2. He was born June 6, 1962, in Bryan, Texas, and was the son of Clot...
Greeting guests as they enter the Matthew Curtiss House museum on Main Street, junior docent Mairin Hayes appears at the door as an authentically dressed Coloni...
Greeting guests as they enter the Matthew Curtiss House museum on Main Street, junior docent Mairin Hayes appears at the door as an authentically dressed Coloni...
Newtown Kindness is hosting its first-ever Nice Bucket Challenge, a pay-it-forward initiative to spread kindness this February, which the organization has named...
Newtown Police Explorers, Cadet Post #823, is seeking young people interested in joining the organization in which they learn about law enforcement, according t...
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!