Windsor Public Schools Announces First-Ever Paraeducator of the Year Recipient

Windsor Public Schools is pleased to recognize Neelam Kumar as the first-ever recipient of the Paraeducator of the Year Award for 2016-2017. Kumar was selected out of 57 nominees following an application process and an interview with a district selection committee. She was nominated by her colleagues at John F. Kennedy School based on her professionalism, care and dedication to supporting student achievement.

Kumar is a graduate of Sagar University in Khandwa, India where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. She also attended SCS Business & Technical Institute in New York. Neelam lives with her family in Windsor. Kumar currently serves as a paraeducator in Windsor Public Schools since 2005 after seven years as a substitute teacher.

The Windsor Public Schools’ Paraeducator of the Year Program recognizes and honors paraprofessional excellence. This recipient serves as a visible and vocal representative of what is best in the profession. The program celebrates excellence by recognizing paraeducators who have inspired a love for learning in their students and who have distinguished themselves in the profession.

Kumar will now serve as Windsor Public Schools’ nominee for the State of Connecticut Paraeducator of the Year. The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and the School Paraprofessional Advisory Council established the Anne Marie Murphy Paraeducator of the Year Program in 2013 to recognize one paraeducator across the state who has demonstrated exceptional skills and dedication in the performance of their job. The award is named in honor of Anne Marie Murphy, a paraeducator who was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting. Kumar will soon work on her State of Connecticut Paraeducator of the Year application due in mid-May.

About Windsor Public Schools:

Windsor Public Schools serves nearly 4,000 students in the community of Windsor, Connecticut, a town located in north central Connecticut between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts. Windsor Public Schools is comprised of six schools: Oliver Ellsworth School, Poquonock School, Clover Street School, John F. Kennedy School, Sage Park Middle School, and Windsor High School. The mission of Windsor Public Schools is to develop the genius in every child and to create life-long learners. For more information about the Windsor Board of Education and any of its schools, please visit www.windsorct.org.