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Summerville Journal Scene: Cane Bay’s Dalpiaz wins teacher of the year (8/28/13)

Cane Bay High School Algebra teacher Shelley Dalpiaz has been recognized as American Board National Teacher of the Year for 2012-2013. Dalpiaz was born in Aruba and moved to the United States when she was 17 to attend Weber State University in Utah. “I wanted to see snow,” she said with a laugh. “Everyone in Utah would tell me I was crazy.”

After graduation she worked in a lab at the University of Utah testing tubes of blood for tuberculosis. In 1998 Dalpiaz moved to South Carolina to follow her husband’s job as an electrician in the Air Force. The couple has a 16-year-old daughter Racheal and a 14-year-old son David, whom she was pregnant with at the time of the move.

She began volunteering at Harvest Baptist Church, and enrolled online at Walden University. After earning a masters degree in mathematics, she earned her certification through the ABCTE. In 2010 she began teaching Algebra II at Cane Bay.

Dalpiaz offers tutoring sessions during lunch, before class and after. The block schedule offers 90-minute classes that she breaks up by lecturing for the first 20 minutes then breaking into small groups. The students play games on the smart board including Jeopardy and “Kooshball”. She has a one-on-one desk in the back of the class for students who need additional help.

The personal goals change day-by-day for Dalpiaz, but one common theme continues. “I just love seeing it in their eyes,” she said. “The look is like ‘Thank God!’ and you know that they get it.”

Dalpiaz praised the leadership of the principal, the help of the math department and even the detailed work of the custodial crew as attributes that make her job easier. To read the full article, click here.