The Teacher of the Year Award recognizes a person who is exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable
and a skilled certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, deafblind or COMS, in any state approved
or accredited day or specialized school, who serves students who are VI and/or DB ages birth through 21,
with or without additional disabilities. It is the highest award presented to education professionals within the
Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Visual Impairments and Deafblindness.
Ms. Tapia is not only described as an exceptional student in her local school system, but also in the
university setting as an adjunct professor. She was best described by one of her graduate students, who is
now her co-worker, as someone who gives 110% to each of her students, whether they are in a K-12 setting,
or college setting. She has extremely high expectations, but remains realistic in such a way that her students
make amazing progress. When presented with a challenge, Paula continually thinks outside of the box and
comes up with creative solutions. If her idea doesn't work for a given student, she persistently presents a new
strategy, which is quite often even better and more creative than the previous strategies.
Ms. Tapia is currently involved in several research studies to improve strategies in O&M. She has
presented her findings at several conferences. She also supports her professional organizations through
continued membership in DVIDB and AER.
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