Stephen Paulson is a social studies and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) teacher at Greeley Central High School in Greeley, Colorado. He has spent his entire 15-year teaching career in Greeley Evans School District 6, spending his first four years teaching middle school and the past 11 years teaching high school.

Paulson graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and an endorsement in secondary social studies. After two years of teaching and coaching, including basketball, football, baseball and track, he went back to school and earned a master’s degree from Colorado State University in teacher leadership and administration.

In Paulson’s current role as an AVID elective teacher, he focuses on helping first-generation students access and graduate from college. He also teaches ninth grade Advanced Placement (AP) human geography, helping students access their first-ever AP course and develop skills to succeed in all future AP courses. Paulson also sponsors the AVID club at Greeley Central, which focuses on community service, community outreach and the development of student leaders within the school and community.