Paula Alford, an exceptional children (EC) teacher at OHS, recently won the 2012 “Teacher of Excellence” award for Orange County. Teachers from each county in North Carolina were nominated for the award. A notice on the Orange County school system’s website said that Alford was chosen for her “positive attitude and willingness to take on new challenges.”The EC division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction gave Alford the award. All of the nominees will be recognized at the 2012 EC Conference.
Alford said that she “was stunned” when she heard that she received the award. “It was just in recognition of hard work, going above and beyond. People from the county nominated me.”
Alford has made some changes to the EC program since she became part of the school faculty. One of the largest changes is a new program she started this year, the HillRAP reading program. HillRAP (Hill Reading Achievement Program) is “a combined curriculum and instructional process approach to improving reading for struggling students,” according to the program’s website. Many students using the program at OHS have had drastic improvements in their reading levels.
Alford has been a teacher for twelve years. She has taught at OHS for four years. She has not always worked as an EC teacher. “I did not start as EC, I started in the fine arts. I was a dance teacher at Durham Public Schools.”
She enjoys the “atmosphere” at OHS. “I like the staff feeling like a family and being supportive. I like that the students are... wanting to be here and wanting to learn. They’re down to earth. They’re still respectful of the teachers and each other."
Karen Kazimir, the OHS EC facilitator, said that Alford deserved the award. “[Alford] won the award because she is dedicated, hard-working, has really good connections with students, and is an asset to the special education profession.”
Alford also believed she deserved the award, but she stated that other staff members deserve to be recognized. “Yeah [I deserve the award], because I bust my butt. There are a lot of teachers who deserve to be recognized. There are a lot of other teachers that have done a lot for the school.”
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