Our Senior Director, Shelly Ehmann, is celebrating 10 years with TLS this year! She’s been with us since the very beginning, and much of our growth and success is due to her hard work and dedication. Shelly shares a few insights, observations and memories of her tenure at TLS:
When did you first start working at TLS?
I began working for TLS in August of 2008.
What position did you have?
I was hired as an aide and worked with students 1:1 in our office and in the schools.
What were your job responsibilities at the time?
As an aide, it was my job to work with all of the students 1:1 on IEP goals, to make sure the students learned and understood the materials presented, help them with their work, and make sure they were successful by showering them with emotional support.
What is your current job, or how has your job changed and evolved over the last 10 years?
It honestly seems like yesterday when I started what I had no idea would become my passion, life, and career…. In ten years, I went from aide/teacher where I decided to go back to school to get my Early Intervention licensure, to Office Manager, to Director of Canal, to Senior Director of TLS.
What is the best part of working at TLS?
It is and always will be the students, staff, and families of TLS that keep me going every day. To be part of a team that provides an atmosphere for students where they can learn, be supported, and are truly loved for the person they are. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
What has changed about TLS since you first started?
Oh wow…. how have things changed!!!! Well we were in a very small office building in Worthington Hills when I came on board with about 10-15 employees. We did not have Small Group Learning or any type of therapy services.
Today we have approximately 120 employees, 3 locations, a therapy department with an array of services, and a wonderful Executive Director, Jill Medley that strives to make sure TLS has everything needs to make our staff and students shine.
What has been the most rewarding part of your job?
There are actually two things that come to mind when I think of the most rewarding. With being at TLS for so long I have been able to see so many our students grow into young adults. Some have moved and come back, some have gone back to district and keep in touch, and some I still see every day to which I say “good morning friend”.
Advocating for our students and families is another big part of my positon with TLS that is so rewarding. Being able to help families with a new diagnosis, helping a student receive services, or providing support in any way that I can to help families is what TLS is about.
As TLS has grown over the past decade, what kind of impact has it had on its students and families?
TLS has grown into a known educational facility not only among families in the autism community, but to school districts as well. We work to obtain the top qualified teachers, staff, and therapists to provide services that treat the whole child, and providing not only a safe environment for the student but a sense of security for the families as well.
Over the 10 years you’ve worked at TLS, what is your favorite memory?
I would have to say that my favorite memories come from TLS staff outings and classroom parties hanging with the students.
Looking forward to the next 10 years, what is the one thing you hope to see happen with TLS?
I can’t wait for the day when TLS becomes a Charter School!!!!!
Thank you, Shelly, for helping TLS become what it is today!