By Linda Lambeck

Westport school bus drivers are called up to the front of the auditorium to be applauded - Photo Linda Lambeck
Westport school bus drivers are called up to the front of the auditorium to be applauded – Photo Linda Lambeck

WESTPORT–When he made the switch from industry to education 15 years ago, Daniel Cortright started teaching science at the middle school level because that’s where his certification lay.

There have been times when the biochemist thought of switching to high school, but he learned quickly there’s something about eighth graders.

The 13-14 old crowd knows a lot and are capable, but “still gettable,” as Cortright put it.

“Let us all be committed to helping the children in our care see the magic that happens when they are figuring things out,” said Cortright, standing before an auditorium full of hundreds of colleagues Monday as he was named Westport’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

A highlight of the district’s annual Convocation, the welcome back event occurs a day before students return for the 2025-26 school year in the Staples High School auditorium.

It is about the only time that the district assembles all district employees at once. Beyond some 500 teachers and administrators were custodians, secretaries, nurses, paraprofessionals and bus drivers in attendance. Representing the Board of Education were members Jill Dillon and Kevin Christie.

This year the district welcomes nearly 60 new staff members including 27 new teachers, close to 10 interns and student teachers as well as a new assistant superintendent for teaching and learning–Anna Mahon.

As of Monday, Assistant Superintendent John Bayers reported there were very few vacancies left to fill.

“It has been a busy summer, but it has also been an incredibly rewarding one,” Bayers said.

“There is not a better team around,” Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice told staff. “The bar is high.”

Entering his sixth year in the district, Scarice recognized staff members with 20 years of service or more to the district. One paraeducator at Staples, Laura Blair, is entering her 41st year in Westport.

Scarice, who for the past year has been pushing a district effort to embrace Artificial Intelligence, told his staff on Monday that the school system will seek a human-centered approach to AI on its own terms.

“Not to replace, but to rehumanize,” Scarice said. “Not to react, but to design the future, ethically, humanely. We cannot be passengers in this moment. We must be the architects.”
If successful, Scarice said Westport will be remembered as one of the districts that led the way.

“This is our moment. Our students, our kids, are counting on us,” Scarice said. “If Westport can’t do this, no one can. I, for one, am honored to help lead us into this next chapter. “

Teacher of the Year

Selected unanimously from among a dozen finalists, Cortright teaches at Bedford Middle School. He will represent the district in the state Teacher of the Year competition later this fall.

Before joining the district, Cortright spent nearly 15 years in science research, contributing to advancements that helped patients manage conditions such as multiple myeloma, district officials said.

Cortright was volunteering in an Odyssey of the Mind program at the elementary level once when he was told he was really good at it. He took night classes to get a master’s degree and his teaching certification.

Bedford Principal Adam Rosen called Cortright a champion for students, someone who exemplifies the very best of the teaching profession and not just because he has a PhD. in biochemistry from the University of Michigan.

“He truly changes lives,” Rosen said. “Everything he does is a master class.”

Rosen said Cortright doesn’t just talk about science, he makes it come alive … His classroom is a place of curiosity, challenge and joy.”

Cortright is head coach of the school’s Science Olympiad team which has competed on the state and national level. Recently the team, for the first time, included a student with special needs who was part of an intensive resource classroom.

Cortright credits other students in the class with helping the student learn and contribute to the team effort. The student and her partner finished seventh out of 18 teams in the Entomology event of the State Science Olympiad.

Cortright told the audience on Monday one reason teaching matters so much to him is that it’s fun.

He grows hydroponic towers outside his classroom and once, not on purpose, set lab tables on fire.

“Public schools are filled with the joyful noise–sometimes too much–of so many interesting and often entertaining things,” Cortright said.

Also, deep learning and skill building, Cortright added.

Many of his daily lessons are meant to help students become problem solvers and figure things out.

“Making mistakes, AKA failing, is an important part of learning,” said Cortright.

He urged his colleagues to allow students to experience failure at times and to cheerlead them through the discovery process.

“Be patient for the results,” he added.

Westport Journal’s recent school coverage

Linda Conner Lambeck

Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.

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