Michelle Galanin of Shiloh Point Elementary School was named Special Education Teacher of the Year for the first time and said the award spotlights her students. Galanin was selected as the winner at the Cumming Civitan Club’s eighth annual Special Education Teacher of the Year banquet, held at the United Way in Cumming. “It’s very exciting because, for me, it kind of brings a spotlight onto my students, and I work with severely handicapped students who don’t really academically contribute to a school system but they contribute in such a different way; the way they bring out the best in other people,” Galanin said.