ORANGE — For the first time in history, a special education teacher was chosen as the winner of the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award for Ralph C. Mahar Regional School.

Melissa Campbell said she was in her classroom a few weeks ago when the principal and superintendent arrived with a bouquet of flowers and told her the good news.

“I was really excited to hear it,” she said. “It’s the first time in this building a special ed teacher has been picked, so I was really grateful.”

The award, also known as the Grinspoon award, has been presented since 2003 thanks to the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation in partnership with the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation. Campbell and other winners throughout Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties will be honored at a banquet at The Log Cabin in Holyoke on April 24.

Mahar Principal Scott Hemlin said award winners are nominated by their colleagues and the decision is made by a committee. He noted the winners alternate between Mahar and Orange’s elementary schools each year because they belong to the same consolidated school district.

“We have a lot of outstanding teachers here. We had multiple nominations. It could have easily gone to just about anyone. It takes a really special person to provide [education] at the level the kids really need,” Hemlin said, adding that Campbell works with special education students in grades seven through 12. “We’re fortunate to have Melissa in this position because she’s so skilled at providing supports for students with … a wide variety of needs.”

Campbell, who grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, said she has taught special education since 1999 and has been working at Mahar since 2013.

“I sorted of landed in it. I am Canadian, I moved to the United States when I was applying for jobs. I got a job with a population of students with significant challenges and I just fell in love with it,” she said. “The way people learn differently is just exciting, then I just kept learning more and doing more.”

She mentioned her students, some of whom are non-verbal, learn “a real mix of things,” from life skills to traditional academics. She even runs a mock-up market so students can learn to be a cashier and she is about to start a coffee shop through a partnership with Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Co. to deliver java throughout the school to people who order it.

“We work really hard to prepare our students to be as independent as they can be as adults,” she said. “I’m so lucky. These guys are awesome.”

Each award winner will receive an engraved plaque and a $250 check, along with tuition incentives and scholarships offered by Elms College, Bay Path University, Mount Holyoke College, Springfield College, Western New England University, Westfield State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Winners also receive a three-month membership at the Springfield Jewish Community Center or one of the six regional YMCAs.

Additionally, all winners are invited to apply for the selective Classroom Innovator Prize of $250. Up to 15 prizes will be awarded.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.