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 180 licensed staff members 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.
Kim Logsdon is a therapeutic teacher for kindergarten through sixth-grade students at Clackamas Education Service District’s Heron Creek Therapeutic Program. Heron Creek serves students receiving special education services and students with social-emotional and behavioral needs across Clackamas County. In Skills 4 Success classes like Kim’s, students navigate some of the most complex disabilities, and Kim is dedicated to creating a safe, supportive space where each child can grow and thrive.
Kim’s students experience a wide range of challenges, including autism, ADHD, vision and hearing impairments, and speech and language deficits. She meets each student’s unique needs with compassion, patience and creativity, breaking down tasks into manageable steps to help each child succeed at their own pace. Through games and group activities, she supports their academic, behavioral, social and emotional growth all at once.
“My students are number one to me,” Kim shares. “I work really hard for them. I’m always thinking, ‘How can I do things differently? Where can I meet them in this moment?”
Kim understands the challenges her students and their families face first-hand. When her son was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old, she had so many questions about his condition and how to help him. Her journey learning how to become his advocate and support him inspired her to return to school to become a special education teacher so she could do the same for other children and families.
While raising her three young children and working as a substitute teacher, Kim steadily pursued her goal. She studied part-time for eight years to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees before beginning her career as a special education teacher. In 2015, she “found her home” teaching at Heron Creek, where the collaboration with behavioral specialists, educational assistants, and the school’s team of speech-language, occupational and physical therapists feels like “magic.”
“We surround our students with unwavering support, therapy, kindness and understanding,” Kim explains. “Heron Creek provides more resources and support for students than any other program I’ve worked in. I love that about this place.”
For Kim, the greatest joy comes from witnessing her students’ progress. Whether it’s seeing a student finally grasping a concept after trying many different approaches or a nonverbal student smiling and connecting with a peer, she treasures every step forward.
Kim’s dedication to her students’ success and personal growth shines through in every aspect of her teaching, creating a classroom where every child can flourish. One of her favorite classroom memories came last year when she and her students raised butterflies from caterpillars.
“We nurtured the caterpillars as they transformed into beautiful butterflies. When the day came to release them, the children stood together outside, watching the butterflies take flight. It was a tear-jerking moment, a perfect metaphor for the growth and change that happens in our classroom every day,” Kim reflects.
