The first full week of May is designated as Licensed Employee Appreciation Week. At Clackamas ESD alone, we have at least 20 types of licensed jobs, with many variations in those positions. These are people who have completed higher education and earned licenses to be certified to teach students, lead continuing education training for staff, serve as social skills specialists, and provide speech, physical and occupational therapy within Clackamas ESD programs and the school districts we serve.
This Licensed Employee Appreciation Week, we’re highlighting a few of our approximately 185 licensed staff members and contractors to provide a peek into the diverse ways this large group of employees lives our mission of service. We appreciate our entire licensed team and the meaningful work they do.
Jan Burkhartzmeyer is a teacher on special assignment in Clackamas Education Service District’s Life Enrichment Education Program for students experiencing complex disabilities and communication needs. While “teacher on special assignment” might sound mysterious, what Jan does is simple; she is an experienced teacher on hand to coach other LEEP teachers, guide program improvement strategies and professional development topics, give additional support to students, lead special projects like serving as the program’s qualified trainer for state student assessments and serve as a substitute teacher or educational assistant when duty calls.
Jan’s experience with LEEP runs deep; she completed her student teaching in a Clackamas ESD LEEP classroom in 1999 and has taught in a LEEP classroom ever since.
“I have been a LEEP teacher for 31 or 32 years; I don’t know, I’ve lost track!” jokes Jan. “The people I have gotten to work with in this program have been amazing, and that is what makes all the difference. I look back and think, ‘Well, that’s why I stayed all these years.’ Because I really love the people I’ve been working with, and students, too, of course!”
In the 2018-19 school year, a TOSA position on the LEEP team opened up. Jan had seen the positive difference TOSAs make and applied for the position.
“I thought, ‘Well, if I’m ever going to make a change in my career, this will be the time,’” Jan recalls.
Jan was selected for the position and began pouring her wealth of experience into the role.
“I feel like I’m the historian of our program,” explains Jan. “People will look for me and ask, ‘What did we do 20 years ago when this happened?’”
In her role as a TOSA, Jan supports teachers in creating the Individual Education Plans required for each student, developing curriculum, applying the behavioral strategies suggested by behavior coaches and specialists, and just by being there in the classroom providing emotional support. Jan makes sure to give extra care to new teachers, remembering how overwhelmed she felt in her first years of teaching.
“I was a deer in the headlights for a long time,” Jan admits. “And then Christmas break came, and I realized, ‘Oh, I really miss these kids!’”
Getting to know a wider circle of students is a perk of the job for Jan.
“As a TOSA, I’ve gotten to work in all of our classrooms and gotten to know all of our students instead of just the 10 I had in my classroom,” Jan says. “It’s been really fun!”
Jan grew up in Minnesota, one of 17 children. After getting her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she moved to Oregon and worked in a group home for adults with developmental disabilities. The experience taught her she enjoyed working with people experiencing disabilities and sparked her interest in helping young people build skills earlier to improve their quality of life. She enrolled in a graduate program at Portland State University and earned her master’s degree in special education.
The opportunity to make a bigger impact as a TOSA motivates Jan.
“I hope that even though I’m not working directly with students like I used to, I’m still a conduit to pushing our students to become as independent as possible, whether it’s by my experience and what I can share with other teachers, or by going into classrooms and positively interacting with the students while I’m there,” Jan says.
“I feel really lucky to work for a program with people who are so dedicated to the students. There’s just this love and commitment by our staff to these kids. I see that all the time.”
