May Center School for Autism and Developmental Disabilities West Springfield, Mass.

Kristen Contois
2023 Exceptional Service Award Recipient

Behavior Specialist
May Center School for Autism and Developmental Disabilities
West Springfield, Mass.



Kristen is a strong and dedicated May employee who always stays positive and is open to receiving feedback. A strong leader in her classroom who oversees the teacher and five instructors, she also does a great job building rapport with families, staff, and students. She is very organized and always meets deadlines.

Kristen is a great role model for the other Behavior Specialists within the school. She provides structures for organization to her colleagues that are then used across the school. An example of this includes the Special Olympics social story and the Big E spreadsheet for coordinating the staffing, schedule, and needs for the day. She also developed the Behavior Support Plan element of adding the Safety Care staircase in each Behavior Support Plan that was then adopted across the school.

Prior to taking on the role of a Behavior Specialist, she worked as an Instructor even after she had passed her BCBA exam. This demonstrated her dedication to the school and to May Institute. She waited until the next opportunity to apply for a Behavior Specialist position rather than finding a different opportunity outside of the May.

Kristen has worked across three different learned profiles throughout the building and does the same great quality work across student profiles. She is a wonderful part of the May Center School team and is deserving of this Employee Service Award.


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