Brenda Luper, a Life Enrichment Education Program services secretary, came to Clackamas Education Service District as an educational assistant in 2016. She has since earned her bachelor’s degree — and has been putting it to use in the classroom, serving as a teacher in addition to managing her secretarial duties during nationwide school staffing shortages.
“It gives me the opportunity to really be able to understand what our staff and students are experiencing in our classrooms and the needs they might have,” says Brenda.
Brenda jokes that she is good at multi-tasking because she homeschooled her four children. But her passion for serving students experiencing disabilities is clear. Her inspiration is her parents; her mother was a long-time special education teacher in the David Douglas School District, and her father has been living with Parkinson’s disease for years.
“I appreciate how my work here has informed my ability to advocate for resources or therapies I see our physical, occupational and speech-language therapists use for my own father,” Brenda explains.
She has loved substituting in classrooms and having the opportunity to help students grow, participate more fully in their environments and “find that one thing that makes them come alive.”
In the summer of 2022, Brenda taught one of our LEEP classes while handling all her administrative preparations for the new school year.
“One of our little guy’s goals was to learn how to participate with peers appropriately. He made great strides; he knew how to bounce and dribble a ball really well, and he learned about bouncing it to a partner and playing back and forth,” Brenda beams. “It was really exciting to see him being able to do that.”
Clackamas ESD Superintendent Larry Didway praises Brenda for her passion, leadership and devotion to our students and our agency mission.
“Brenda is an example of the kind of person who is completely mission-driven,” Larry remarks. “The mission comes through in her enthusiasm and dedication, and our ESD and our community, our county, are really fortunate to have people like her.”
