Greeley Central High School held a special celebration for one of their teachers on Thursday. Stephen Paulson was named Colorado Teacher of the Year .

Stephen Paulson CBS

Paulson was surprised with the news during a ceremony in the school gymnasium in Greeley, and the student body cheered loudly for him.

He teaches social studies and also an accelerated learning program called Advancement Via Individual Determination.

Organizers from the Colorado Department of Education say the award celebrates educators in the state who devote themselves to helping students learn and thrive. In Paulson's AP Human Geography class, many of the students are multilingual and first-generation, and the CDE says his students "dive into lessons that center their own stories, like writing college-level e

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