Every day for 32 years, Gold Coast special education teacher Catherine ‘Tassy’ Engel works determinedly to make her classrooms meaningful, relevant, and contextual.

A natural mentor, Mrs Engel now at Southport State High School, has supported teachers with the fundamentals of the profession, as well as insights gained from decades of specialist work that, according to colleagues, no book could ever provide.

One of her proudest achievements, she says, is developing relationships and supporting students with their transitions to high school.

“Working with families, creating an environment that shows students and their families this is going to be a really positive thing to do,” she said.

For years, she has gone above and beyond to help neurodiverse students develop their social skills, including implementing the ‘Secret Agent Society’, a program that uses espionage-themed resources and small group sessions to help students develop social skills for daily life. Besides supporting students directly, the program is great for teachers and families, too.

“They were commenting on the students’ abilities to work more productively in the classroom, and parents said their students have been a lot calmer at home,” she said.

Mrs Engel has achieved extraordinary things with her students, as well as the resources she has developed - from rewriting an entire legal studies textbook, to simplifying Romeo and Juliet for those with hearing impairments and language difficulties.

Every term, she rearranges and redecorates her classroom to get students engaged and curious. There’s been Harry Potter cupboard under the stairs, a bunker, a ‘Henny Penny’ hatching program - even a life-size terracotta warrior.

“If I have the excitement about it, they want to see what all the fuss is about,” she says.

Her strong commitment to academic progress has resulted in no student under her care over the last five years receiving less than a C on their academic reports.

Among her colleagues, she is known for her quiet confidence and ability to motivate everyone around her, with her current Department Head commenting on her influence on her decision to pursue a career in special education.

According to Mrs Engel, it's important to be a champion for your colleagues, whether you're new or experienced.

“I’ve had a lot of champions in my career and people who will push you along and hold you up. Be that for other people.”

Mrs Engel was presented as a finalist at the Queensland College of Teachers 2022 TEACHX Awards Ceremony, in the Outstanding Contribution to Teaching category.