Overview

Mrs. Karen Mylly began her career as a special education paraeducator with Colchester Public Schools in 2013, after volunteering in her own children’s classrooms for several years. She quickly found herself drawn to students with unique learning styles and behavioral challenges and would often volunteer more time to help these students achieve their academic goals. She believes that when a child feels safe, comfortable and respected, they are more likely to engage in instruction and participate fully in classroom activities.

Mrs. Mylly currently works in a special education program at Jack Jackter Intermediate School in Colchester, designed for students with behavioral challenges. She is certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid, CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and recently completed training as a Registered Behavior Technician.

Karen lives in Colchester with her husband, Chris, and their two daughters, Kaitlyn and Morgan. As Connecticut’s Anne Marie Murphy Paraeducator of the Year, her message to paraeducators is to model resilience. When we can consistently model resilience, we can help our students see the endless possibilities around them. We give them hope. We help them grow. We give them back the power to recover and carry on. Ultimately, Karen believes in modeling the skills to help put kids back in charge of their life, their dreams and their learning. Her message resembles ‘The Starfish Story’ by Loren Eisely, where helping just one matters. She challenges each and every one of you to help just one. That one will become more, and more will become many. Together, we can make a difference!