
Sue Yin Kahler, a long-time Instructional Assistant
at Columbus Magnet School, has been named Norwalk Paraeducator of the Year.
Mrs. Kahler will represent Norwalk paraprofessionals in the Anne Marie Murphy
Paraeducator of the Year program, sponsored by the Connecticut State Department
of Education and the School Paraprofessional Advisory Council.
Mrs. Kahler was chosen for her dedication not only
to academic responsibilities, but also for her involvement in school-wide initiatives
and enrichment programs, and for her passion for integration of the arts into
the school. As a Higher Order Thinking (H.O.T.) school, Columbus Magnet School
has an integrated approach to learning that heavily involves the arts.
“Not only does Mrs. Kahler play a crucial role in
helping young children learn to read and write, she supports children at risk,
helps students understand difficult math, and co-teaches social studies and
science lessons,” said Columbus Principal Medard Thomas. “She provides a broad
vision of history, art and our world. Columbus
children adore Mrs. Kahler, and she is well respected among staff and parents.”
A paraprofessional in the district for over nineteen
years, Mrs. Kahler provides daily academic and administrative support in the
classroom with a lead teacher and to the first grade team. In addition, she collaborates
on schoolwide initiatives and enrichment opportunities. For the past several
years she has served as the committee chair for Columbus’s MLK PEACE Games,
bringing students together to share the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Mrs. Kahler is also one of two site-leaders
for the H.O.T. Schools program at Columbus, where she collaborates with
like-minded artists and educators who strongly support arts integration in
education. She has attended the acclaimed week-long H.O.T. School Summer
Institute for the past 14 years.
In 2016, Mrs. Kahler applied for and was awarded a
Lincoln Center Fellowship, and attended a weeklong workshop in New York for
creating lessons with “arts infusion.”
Outside the classroom, she is also involved in a variety of other art
related programs including volunteering as an art docent with the National Park
Service at Weir Farm National Historical Site in Connecticut, and with a
program called “Kids in Every Park” for fourth graders.
Finalists considered for the Norwalk Paraeducator of
the Year honor were chosen from nominees for this year’s Norwalk Public Schools
Excellence in Educational Support Awards. The Educational Support Awards were designed
to honor non-certified staff members who have earned the respect and admiration
of students, teachers, administrators, co-workers and parents. Nominations
were submitted by colleagues, administrators or parents and then reviewed and
finalized by each school’s governance council.
The Anne Marie Murphy Paraeducator of the Year
Program was established to recognize the important role of the paraeducator in
supporting student achievement. The award is named in honor of Anne Marie
Murphy, a paraeducator who lost her life at Sandy Hook Elementary School in
2012. School districts throughout
Connecticut can nominated one paraeducator each year to apply for this award. The
program honors one paraeducator who has demonstrated exceptional skill and
dedication in the performance of his or her job.
The 2019 Anne Marie Murphy Paraeducator of the Year
will be chosen in late September and honored at the 2019 Teacher of the Year
Ceremony in December. Each district-selected Paraeducator of the Year will
receive a certificate of recognition from the Commissioner of Education.