08/05/2026
🌟IMESD School Psychologist Liz Durant makes a real difference in the lives of the students and families she supports. 🌟
Congratulations to our August School Psych of the Month, Liz Durant!!
I live in Pendleton and serve schools in three school districts in rural Eastern Oregon which are part of InterMountain ESD's consortium. I work with Stanfield School District, Pilot Rock School District, and Pendleton High School. In Stanfield and Pilot Rock, I work with K-12 students. In Pendleton, I work only with high school students.
As a school psychologist, I always find it very rewarding when I can give students, families, and educators insights into how a particular student's brain works. I love being able to empower students with the knowledge that their brain has certain strengths which make some types of learning easier and particular areas that make some types of learning harder for them. I also find it very rewarding to affirm the suspicions of parents, guardians, or teachers who know their student is struggling but are not sure why or how to help. Being able to give suggestions and ideas for supports is incredibly rewarding for me.
My answer is not meant to be evasive, but I am one of those educators that truly enjoys working with students at all levels. Each age and developmental level has qualities that are endearing in different ways...and also challenging!
My favorite part of being a school psychologist is doing the detective work into the 'why' behind a student's behavior in the school setting, whether it is academic or behavioral struggles. Identifying the root cause as best I can leads to better interventions and supports. If you figure out the why driving the behavior, it's easier to figure out to how intervene and support it.
