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.
Whitney Miller is a therapeutic teacher in Clackamas Education Service District’s Heron Creek Therapeutic Program. She teaches a class of kindergarten through third-grade students experiencing significant social, emotional, behavioral and academic challenges.
“I teach them all the academic things they need to know, plus regulation skills. How to be a human in this world, as well as, you know, reading, writing and math. It’s really fun!” Whitney explains.
Whitney’s students come to Heron Creek because they have had challenges being successful at their local schools. But before her students can learn and grow, Whitney needs to build a trusting relationship with each child.
“The relationship side is the biggest side of my job because they’re not going to get anything out of school if they don’t feel comfortable,” Whitney remarks.
She connects with her students by doing one simple thing; finding opportunities where they can talk, and really listening.
“A lot of times, my students don’t feel heard. So finding an opportunity to let them talk about whatever they want, and being engaged in that, is a good first step in starting that relationship,” says Whitney. “Just meeting them where they’re at, whatever they’re feeling. There’s so much that could happen before we even start school each day that you don’t know about. Checking in and giving them the space to be themselves and feel like someone is listening and caring about what’s going on in their lives is huge.”
Whitney also connects with her students by adjusting her teaching to their individual needs. For example, to help with active students’ focus, she will incorporate more movement into the day by having the class rotate to different seats or sit in different positions to “get the wiggles out.”
“I feel like sometimes we hold kids in special education to a higher standard. I’ve been trying to step back and ask, ‘Is this something a typical adult can do? Are we asking more of our kiddos? Could I sit at a desk for six hours and be fine?’ Probably not!” Whitney admits.
Whitney’s path to teaching started with earning her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and completing an internship with the juvenile justice system.
“I loved working with the middle schoolers and figuring out, ‘Why is this behavior happening? What can we do to help this child learn to manage their feelings appropriately?’ The collaboration and problem-solving that comes with working with children with challenging behavior are super intriguing to me. It’s like a puzzle,” says Whitney.
After hearing how much she enjoyed working with the children in the juvenile justice system, Whitney’s father, a retired educator, suggested she try working as an educational assistant. After she graduated, she worked as an educational assistant in the Oregon City School District for three years and the experience inspired her to pursue her master’s degree in special education. Her first teaching job was at Heron Creek, and six years later, she still finds celebrating her students’ wins incredibly fulfilling.
“I recently pointed out to a student, ‘Do you realize that you just read that whole story on your own?’ He got this huge grin on his face,” Whitney recalls. “You could see that he was surprised that he could do that on his own, and it was really rewarding to see something that he had struggled with totally click, and he was so excited about it.”
Whitney acknowledges she is not solely responsible for her students’ successes. She’s thankful for the unique skills and contributions of the educational assistants, behavioral coach and social skills specialist in her classroom.
“I wouldn’t be the teacher I am if I didn’t have a team that supported me,” she shares.
