Growing Graduates: State program helps LPS educators blossom as classroom teachers

October 14, 2025

Lincoln Public Schools students are blooming in their classrooms this year thanks to the blossoming teaching talents of leaders like Isaiah Collier and Tanner Hilzer.
 
Collier and Hilzer are among seven LPS staff members who are the first graduates of the new Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program (NTAP). Collier, Hilzer, Rachawadee Maungkya-Taveepanpun, Rhiannon Jurgens, Abbey Traynowicz, Megan Nicholls and Lisa Fagler began leading special education classes at LPS buildings this fall. They reached their teaching goals after completing a yearlong training program with LPS mentors and University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors.
 
Collier and Hilzer said it has been rewarding to expand their fields of teaching knowledge at LPS. Hilzer had been a behavior technician at Park Middle School and Collier had been an in-school suspension program technician at Bryan Community before applying for NTAP classes. Hilzer now leads an adjusted math course, several math lab classes and two reading groups at Park. Collier co-teaches a 12-person senior seminar class and provides specialized instruction to 12 students in a 25-person geography course at Northwest High School.

 
“I think just being able to help and assist people has always been something I’ve been interested in,” Collier said. “Being able to do it in a school, in a classroom, was something I was also interested in. It’s been a perfect decision so far.”
 
“It’s a family here,” Hilzer said. “Every day is a good day at Park Middle School. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences.”
 
Barb Miller is helping them succeed as the LPS emerging educators empowerment specialist. She was thrilled when Nebraska legislators announced in 2024 that they would provide $1 million to address a statewide shortage of teachers. Her excitement level rose even more after multiple LPS staff members asked to join the program. The seven NTAP graduates earned special education endorsements after completing their mentorships within the school district.
 
“The candidates are phenomenal,” Miller said. “Very often, it was a principal who saw that potential and connected them with the program. It was really fulfilling to see them perhaps reach goals that they didn’t even necessarily know that they had.”
 
All seven are now helping students across Lincoln. Traynowicz is leading classes at Standing Bear High School, Nicholls is teaching at Pershing Elementary School and Fagler is guiding students at Kloefkorn Elementary School. Maungkya-Taveepanpun and Jurgens are both teaching special education classes at Eastridge Elementary School.
 
Park Principal Charlotte Everts encouraged Hilzer to consider the NTAP opportunity after watching him excel as a paraeducator. A former horticulturalist, Hilzer decided to become a paraeducator in Park’s recovery room after realizing he could make a difference for students.
 
“It’s so awesome to see,” Everts said. “I watched him interact with kids when maybe they were at their lowest and needed more support, and he just has such a way with kids and helps them get to their potential. To be able to see him do that in a classroom setting, where he’s making even a bigger impact with more kids, has been really amazing to see.”

 
Collier pursued a school counseling degree before beginning his technician role at Bryan Community. He said it was a life-changing moment when he learned NTAP would provide a path for him to become a full-time teacher.
 
“I was a little nervous at first, but I just took the leap of faith with it,” Collier said. “I just ended up fully committing. I went to the first meeting, and I was like, ‘This is for sure something I’m interested in,’ so I committed from that day.”

 
Paraeducators, technicians and other LPS classified staff can apply for the program, which pays for their tuition and fees. The inaugural group took an eight-week class together at UNL before entering their yearlong apprenticeships at LPS buildings. Collier and Hilzer both said having supportive teammates made the experience enjoyable for everyone.
 
“If we had any questions or anything, it was nice just to be able to ask someone who was going through the exact same thing as you,” Collier said. “Being able to have someone that was with you willing to just kind of bounce ideas off of each other.”
 
“At first it was a businesslike atmosphere, but by the end, we were family,” Hilzer said. “We spent a lot of Wednesday nights together and a lot of summer mornings together, and so by the end, you know, we still check in on each other. It’s a pretty good thing we’ve got going.”
 
The seven NTAP graduates are the latest success stories of the LPS Grow Your Own strategy. Miller said LPS leaders are working hard to identify students and employees who have a passion for teaching. Once this happens, they can then use programs like NTAP to keep them within the LPS family.
 
“LPS is a community, and people don’t necessarily stray far,” Miller said. “This is a great place to look for future educators.”

 
Collier said he and his NTAP classmates felt a sense of accomplishment on their graduation day. He said he is grateful to help students realize their own budding academic dreams in the classroom.
 
“It was a lot of relief,” Collier said. “There was a lot of hard work that we put in over the course of the year, so to be able to be at that finish line and just know that we can actually become teachers now, it was a really big thing for us.”
 
Want to make a difference at LPS just like the seven NTAP graduates? Visit home.lps.org/hr to view job opportunities throughout Lincoln Public Schools. You can set up job notifications and view many LPS staff resources and benefits.
 
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