Parents of the students in Robin's class say that he's made a huge impact with their kids. "I can't even imagine the hours he's volunteered of his own time to get this program off the floor and going," Pam Moore explained. "His heart is so huge and so apart of these kids. He spends everyday of his life thinking of ways he can make this program better."

Instead of focusing on the hurdles the kids have to overcome; Robin says he's always looking at each child's strengths and celebrating their successes. "It's a group of kids that are so full of love. They have so much energy. They love to interact with as many people during the course of the day as they can. They're constantly smiling."

He says they love interacting with the community, especially the other students at Columbine. And that's reciprocated by the mainstream students at the school. They volunteer in droves to serve as "student assistants" in the program. "It's the most amazing part of my day," said one student assistant. "I love coming in everyday and seeing their smiles. It's neat to be able to help them and see them improve. We watch them grow as the year goes on."

Mr. Ortiz says the interaction not only helps his special needs students, but also the student volunteers. "The student assistants learn compassion, patience, but more importantly they learn a little bit about themselves. They learn that their lives are pretty good and even on their worst days, their toughest days, it's a lot better than the adversity the kids in our classroom face."

Teaching special needs children isn't easy–but Robin says they've certainly been a blessing in his life. "They're such special people. We get so much from these kids. They just have this great passion for life."

Please join 9NEWS, CollegeInvest and Metropolitan State College in congratulating Robin Ortiz, the March 2007 9Teacher Who Cares.