Westporter Named Paraeducator of the Year

Westporter James “Jaime” Bairaktaris today addresses students and educators at Redding Elementary School where he was honored as the 2020 Anne Marie Murphy Paraeducator of the Year. Bairaktaris, 21, a 2016 Staples graduate who works at the school five days a week, was selected from among 14,000 nominees, said Commissioner of Education Miguel A. Cardona, one of a number of state and local officials on hand to honor him. When he is not teaching at the school, where he was a student, Bairaktaris is a Westport EMS crew chief, dishes out ice cream at Westport’s Saugatuck Sweets, and is a WestportNow contributing photographer. Pictured with him is Redding Principal Natalie Hammond, a survivor of the Sandy Hook shootings and a friend of Ann Marie Murphy, a special education paraprofessional who lost her life during the Sandy Hook tragedy. There will be a state ceremony for Bairaktaris in December. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo