To the Editor:

As a registered Democrat, I am concerned that members of the other party on the Board of Education have indicated a top priority is “bringing blue ribbon schools back to Newtown.” As a certified teacher, I would like to address this issue. On its surface, this sounds logical and beneficial. For those of us less familiar with what “Blue Ribbon” means, however, I believe it’s critical to look deeper, and to examine what the Department of Education requires:

*Only a certain number of nominations are accepted from each state based on the number of students in that state. For Connecticut, the CT Commissioner of Education may nominate four schools (out of 1000+).

*At least one third of the nominated schools must have a high percentage (at least 40 percent) of students with disadvantaged backgrounds. According to ct.gov EDSIGHT District Dashboard for Newtown, in the 2022-23 school year 26.63 percent of the Newtown student population was considered high needs (a student with a disability, an English Learner, or a student eligible for free or reduced-price meals).

*Once nominated the school must complete an extensive application process that must be approved by the US Department of Education.

*Schools may win the Blue Ribbon status in either Exemplary High Performing or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing.

As Bruce Walczak’s letter to the editor last week noted, Newtown’s Public Schools rank in the top quartile+ in performance at the state and national levels across multiple metrics.

Rather than confusing the community about Blue Ribbon status, let’s listen to our school community to understand where to focus our attention, energy and resources so we can meet the needs of our students. This includes realizing the goals of the district’s strategic plan and ensuring we meet the mission of our schools to “inspire each student to excel,” not chasing awards that don’t even accurately measure the progress and achievements of Newtown’s students or schools.

Respectfully,

Lynn Hungaski

Newtown