This spotlight is of Colleen Kerr, a Therapist at Alta Vista Integraded Life Services. Colleen is applying for The 2024 Kerry Magro Special Education Teacher, Therapist, and Aide Grant via the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference started by me, Kerry Magro. I was nonverbal till 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at 4, and you can read more about my organization here.
As a lead teacher at Alta Vista Integrated Life Services in Port Orchard, Washington, Colleen Kerr’s mission is simple: to meet each student where they are. For the past seven years, she has worked with young children in Pre-K, helping them develop foundational skills in both academics and social-emotional growth. Colleen teaches a small group of students with a variety of special needs, including autism, Down syndrome, ADHD, and developmental delays. She believes deeply in the power of individualized education, tailoring her approach to each child’s unique needs and abilities.
For Colleen, the philosophy of “Teaching the Way Our Students Learn” means understanding that every child has their own pace, their own strengths, and their own challenges. “Meeting the students where they are” is her guiding principle. Whether that means providing extra support in academics or finding creative ways to address social-emotional development, Colleen is committed to ensuring that her students feel valued, understood, and capable of growth.
In her classroom, Colleen fosters an environment where each child can feel safe, loved, and encouraged. “We’re a small classroom, but we’re filled with love and laughter,” she shares. “Our focus is on creating a space where each child can grow at their own pace, while also learning the importance of respecting others and communicating in healthy ways.” This nurturing atmosphere is essential for the students she works with, many of whom face challenges in social interactions and communication.
Colleen is currently applying for the Kerry Magro Special Education Teacher, Therapist, and Aide Grant, offered by the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference, to enhance her ability to support her students. The grant would help her provide additional resources and supplies, particularly in areas that are critical for her students’ needs, such as sensory equipment and more furniture. “Being in a nonprofit organization means we’re often working with limited resources,” Colleen explains. “Having more supplies to meet our students’ needs would make a huge difference in the way we can support them. Sensory tools are so important for our students, and this grant could help us create an even more enriching environment.”
One success story that stands out to Colleen involves a non-verbal student who initially struggled to communicate with his peers. “This child uses his body to communicate, which sometimes led to aggression—hitting and pushing—to get attention from his classmates,” Colleen recalls. “We knew he wanted to play, but his peers didn’t always understand what he was trying to say, and they would often run away from him out of fear.”
Determined to help this child learn more effective communication, Colleen and her team introduced a simple but powerful tool: a picture card. The child was taught to use a picture of the word “play” to communicate his desire to interact with others. “We started by showing him how to hold up the picture when he wanted to engage with a peer,” Colleen explains. “At first, his peers would still be startled by his proximity and the way he communicated, but over time, they began to understand what he was asking for.”
The result was remarkable. While the child occasionally held the picture too close to his peers’ faces, they soon learned to recognize the cue and no longer ran away when he wanted to play. “It was such a breakthrough for both the child and his classmates,” Colleen says. “The child learned a more appropriate way to express himself, and his peers started to recognize that he wasn’t being aggressive, but simply trying to connect with them. This moment really highlighted the importance of patience, consistency, and communication in our classroom.”
Through this experience, Colleen was able to witness firsthand how understanding and support can help students with special needs navigate their world. “It’s all about making sure they have the tools they need to succeed and feel understood,” she says. “Every step forward, no matter how small, is a victory. When this child was able to get the attention of his peers with his picture card, it was a huge win for everyone involved.”
Looking ahead, Colleen is excited about the possibilities that the Kerry Magro Special Education Teacher, Therapist, and Aide Grant could offer. With the resources provided by this grant, she hopes to expand the classroom’s sensory tools, provide additional furniture for comfort, and further enhance the learning environment for her students. “I want to continue creating an environment where my students feel safe, heard, and supported,” she says. “Every child has the potential to succeed, and it’s our job as educators to help them find the right path.”
Through her compassionate approach to teaching and her commitment to meeting students where they are, Colleen Kerr is making a significant difference in the lives of children with special needs. Whether it’s helping a student communicate more effectively or creating a more inclusive environment, Colleen’s work is rooted in the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow at their own pace.
Have Dr. Kerry Magro give a student assembly, staff development for your educators or a parent talk for your parents by contacting him here for more details.
Follow my journey on Facebook, my Facebook Fan Page, Tiktok, Youtube & Instagram.
My name is Kerry Magro, a professional speaker and best-selling author who is also on the autism spectrum. I started the nonprofit KFM Making a Difference in 2011 to help students with autism receive scholarship aid to pursue post-secondary education. Help support me so I can continue to help students with autism go to college by making a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit here.
