Medical Day Treatment Teacher Receives '9Teachers Who Care' Award

Paulette McGill received the October 9Teachers Who
Care, a monthly award that recognizes teachers
who exemplify excellence in education.

from The Children's Hospital (TCH) News, November 2006

It’s 11 a.m. on Tuesday: math time. “Miss Paulette” – Paulette McGill – is helping students with their math problems. She explains “clustering” to one student working on pre-algebra. She works on addition with another, and helps a third student with geometry.

Such are the days of McGill, a Denver Public Schools special educator who has been teaching students in Medical Day Treatment for five years. McGill teaches children who are a variety of ages, at varying academic levels, and who have a variety of medical needs. McGill recently was honored for her work by 9News, which named McGill the October recipient of its “9Teachers Who Care” award.

When a 9News staff member contacted McGill, she initially told her, “We’ve received some letters about how you work with your children.”

“I thought, ‘I’m being investigated!’” McGill said. “Then she said, ‘you’ve been chosen the ‘ 9Teachers Who Care’ for October, and I almost started to cry.”

Arletta Cockrell, nurse practitioner and clinical manager in Medical Day Treatment, was one of McGill’s colleagues who wrote a letter in support of her nomination.

“Miss Paulette gives more than she needs to sometimes,” she said. “It’s more than teaching. It’s building relationships and letting the kids know that people care about them.”