The fifth annual free dental clinic sponsored by Diamond Dental with volunteer assist by Newtown Lions Club, is scheduled for Veterans Day Saturday, November 11.
Newtown’s free 2023 Health Fair will be more than an opportunity to fill complimentary shopping bags full of freebies from its dozens of vendors and exhibitors.
Newtown Police Department will work with representatives of Easterseals Driver Assessment Program program to conduct practice traffic stops two weeks from today.
Longtime Regional Hospice Newtown Giving Circle event co-chairs and local residents Marg Studley and Marie Sturdevant will be honored this year for two-plus decades of service.
The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and its Association board invited community members in to their first open house at their Fairfield Hills headquarters on a rainy July 16.
NewSylum Brewing Company and Newtown Youth & Family Services recently concluded the second annual combined observance of May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
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!