Elevating Education: New LPS educators enjoy upgraded professional learning format

September 16, 2025

Lincoln Public Schools educators began to elevate their classroom knowledge this fall through a redesigned tenure-track program.
 
Dozens of educators came to Southwest High School in September for their first sessions of the LPS ElevatED: Elevating Professional Practices program. Educators who are beginning their second and third years at LPS will complete a series of classes through next spring. The courses are part of a three-year LPS ElevatED tenure pathway that supports certificated staff in their early years of employment at LPS.
 
Twenty members of the LPS Tenure ProCom Committee restructured the tenure program this past year to address the Staff Wellbeing and Outcomes prong of the 2024-29 Strategic Plan. Instead of completing a mandated list of professional learning courses, educators can now pick from more than a dozen topics to study.
 
Randolph Elementary School fifth grade teachers Isabelle Short Gomez and Kylie Ballentine said they have enjoyed tailoring their own tenure tracks. Short Gomez is working on obtaining an English Learners (EL) endorsement, and one of the seminars she chose was about EL classroom practices. Ballentine attended courses about services from LPS Federal Programs and helping students who are facing trauma and poverty in their lives.
 
“I love it,” Short Gomez said. “It is so much more engaging to get to pick what’s applicable to your school, to your team, to who you are as a teacher if you have past teaching experience, so it’s just awesome to get to pick.”
 
“It’s been really nice, because it allows you some of that opportunity to figure out what you find the most important,” Ballentine said. “It also allows for others to then just be able to learn what they feel like they need in order to support their students and also themselves in the classroom.”
 
Anneke Tel, a special education teacher at Kooser Elementary School, also attended the session about poverty and trauma. She was impressed with the professionalism and helpfulness of the teachers who led the class.
 
“The course that I just came from was really good,” Tel said. “Both of the teachers there were really informed, and I feel like I got a lot of great advice and a lot of things that I can take into the classroom.”
 
LPS Director of Continuous Improvement Amy Clark said she was pleased with the new LPS ElevatED format. She heard many positive comments from educators when she met them after their first classes.
 
“I’m just really excited to see so many people excited about learning,” Clark said.
 
In year one of LPS ElevatED, new certificated staff members receive specific curriculum and instructional support within their assigned content areas through the ElevatED: Building a Strong Foundation course. They also take classes about the LPS Prevention, Accountability and Restorative (PAR) behavior framework, teaching with clarity and effective classroom practices. In addition, they receive LPS technology training, meet with LPS mentors and attend Welcome to LPS Week.
 
In years two and three, staff members choose from two Elevating Professional Practices pathways. One route allows them to use video to improve their performance. They attend six hours of in-person meetings and record two hours of themselves leading their classrooms. They then review the footage with partners to gain constructive feedback.
 
Riley Elementary School third grade teacher Christina Morse is taking the video reflection option this year. She appreciated being able to adapt the program to her personal calendar, as she is currently taking nine credits of graduate school courses. Educators can complete their three required sessions over a six-month span.
 
“It’s really flexible with my schedule, because I only have to come three times this year, and it’s something I can do and talk to my peers about regularly,” Morse said.
 
The second route follows a complete in-person learning format. Educators choose four of six available evenings to attend from September through March. They begin with a 45-minute class, spend 30 minutes having supper together and finish the night with a second 45-minute course.
 
Skylar Jilg-Brown teaches fourth grade at Huntington Elementary School. She said it was rewarding to meet new friends from across Lincoln. She felt that forming that type of support system would benefit her throughout her LPS career.
 
“One of the things I really appreciated sitting in my sessions, I wasn’t just with fourth grade teachers,” Jilg-Brown said. “I was with social workers and high school teachers, middle school teachers. That was really cool to get to kind of diversify the people I get to network with.”
 
In addition to specific instructional topics, the LPS ElevatED courses also cover general subjects such as spreading hope and resilience to students. North Star High School teacher Lindsey Palmer said listening to inspiring stories from others was an encouraging way to spend the evening.
 
“It reminded me a lot of my upbringing and how hope got me here today,” Palmer said.
 
Jilg-Brown said she was looking forward to continuing her LPS ElevatED education over the next few months. She felt the courses would help her elevate learning opportunities for everyone in her Huntington classroom.
 
“I just love them so much,” Jilg-Brown said. “I feel like knowing more how to support them and what they’ve gone through is really important. They were really great sessions.”
 
Want to learn more about LPS ElevatED and how it helps build strong educational foundations? Visit home.lps.org/prolearn/tenure-requirements to view more details about the important professional learning program.
 
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