Newtown High School Social Studies Department Chair Amy Deeb was recently named Newtown’s Teacher of the Year and NHS paraeducator Judy Watts was named as Newtown’s Paraeducator of the Year. Both were surprised with the news near the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Before retiring, Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue shared that Deeb and Watts were surprised with the news on June 15, which happened to also be the date of the NHS Class of 2022 graduation. While school was still in session, both Deeb and Watts were surprised at the school.

“It was such a positive experience to go over and present Judy with flowers in the music class that she happened to be in,” Rodrigue reflected, adding that the students in the classroom at the time were “just beyond excited.”

Rodrigue said Watts is “one of the kindest” paraeducators, and she is very deserving of the honor of being this year’s Paraeducator of the Year. Highlighting Watts for being humble, Rodrigue also said she has done “so much for the district.”

After surprising Watts, a group, including the then-superintendent, surprised Deeb. Rodrigue said she first met Deeb when Deeb was hired in 2004. At the time, Rodrigue was an assistant principal at the school. From the start, Rodrigue said she knew Deeb was a competent educator. Rodrigue described Deeb as being thoughtful about teaching and learning and shared that she has created ways to bring multi-cultural perspectives into her teaching. Deeb is also a strong educational leader for the district, Rodrigue shared.

Surprising Deeb was a sentimental moment for Rodrigue, who shared that many in the room were brought to tears.

Deeb recalled that she was in her office at the time when the group arrived to surprise her.

“Obviously I had no clue,” Deeb said, adding that it was a very nice surprise.

Deeb also reflected that it meant a lot to have Rodrigue among those delivering the news, as Rodrigue has “played a huge role in how my career formed.”

“I was just so honored to be nominated,” Deeb shared, reflecting on the process of applying to be Newtown’s Teacher of the Year.

Inspiration To Educate

First, nominees are nominated and then they fill out an application. A selection committee then reviews the applications.

As part of the application, Deeb said she described why she went into teaching and how she inspires students.

Deeb’s education began with a “not great kindergarten teacher.” Her father had been paralyzed in an accident, the family attended rehab together, and when Deeb started kindergarten, she was still processing everything. Her teacher at the time “would pretty much bully me on a daily basis.” The teacher did not understand Deeb’s circumstances, nor did the teacher care to understand. Her kindergarten teacher “sucked the fun” out of learning, Deeb said. After the family moved to a new town, Deeb had “holes” in her education. But in fifth grade, a teacher changed her life.

“That’s when I knew I wanted to be a teacher, because she gave me the ability to write,” Deeb said of her fifth grade teacher Linda Edwards of Trumbull.

Not only does Deeb credit her parents, James J. Repay and Sandra Repay, for the person she is today, but she also credits Edwards. After her father passed away in 2018, Deeb reached out to Edwards, and the two have maintained contact since. Edwards, who was a former Teacher of the Year herself, was one of the first people Deeb texted with the news, along with her mother and husband.

“She was elated,” Deeb said of Edwards.

Deeb said that as a teacher Edwards looked at her as a person with a story and “she had to teach all of me and piece me back together.”

So now, when students enter Deeb’s classroom, she knows each student has a story.

Deeb said she wants her students to feel safe, like they can let their guard down, and she wants them to feel heard, seen, and encouraged to learn.

She also shares her story with her students and that everything is a learning experience.

“It builds your story, it builds your character and it makes you who you are. That’s why we are all so different and unique,” Deeb said of everything people experience.

Watts has been a paraeducator at NHS for eight years. She was previously at Middle Gate Elementary School for six years and she worked at Reed Intermediate School for two years before that.

Working With Students

While sharing that the students at NHS behave “really well” and that the faculty and students work well together, Watts said one of her favorite things about her job is to work with the students.

She loves knowing that she “can modify work and see the child, my one-on-one, progress to the next level.”

Watching her own children learn and grow inspired her to become a paraeducator, Watts shared, adding that she is very happy she chose the field, after first thinking of being a behavioral therapist.

Watts said one of the things she remembers being highlighted by the selection committee for her award is her ability to “fit in wherever I am needed.”

In a typical day, Watts works with her one-on-one student to get them off the bus, help them eat breakfast, then she works throughout the day to transition the student between classes and to modify work for the student.

“It’s very rewarding, you work as a team, and once you work as that team it is nice to see the growth of your one-on-one as (they) progress to the next level of (their) work,” Watts shared.

Newtown Public Schools Paraprofessional Union President Marlene Bucci said,” Watts steps up to do whatever she has to do to best serve her student, and she always goes above and beyond for her kids.”

“She’s really the epitome of a paraeducator,” Bucci said.

As the Newtown Teacher of the Year and Paraeducator of the Year, Deeb and Watts are expected to be celebrated and highlighted throughout the next school year.

Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.