Lincoln Public Schools reports progress on recruitment, expands 'Grow Your Own' teacher pipeline

At a Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education meeting, a Human Resources staff member outlined steps the district has taken to boost recruitment and retention, saying the district’s 'Grow Your Own' teacher pipeline is expanding and initial hiring metrics are trending in the right direction.

The presenter told the Board the district’s Grow Your Own pathway has accelerated, crediting Barb Miller’s work on pathway cadres and saying, “we will have 41 new teachers [by 2027] thanks specifically to our grow your own efforts.” She said the program is entering its sixth cadre and that demand for new cadres is growing.

Why it matters: The district said these efforts aim to reduce teacher vacancies and build local pipelines for hard-to-fill roles. The presenter emphasized the scale of the district’s workforce—"6,000 plus employees who call LPS home"—and framed recruitment as essential to delivering classroom instruction.

Details and supporting steps: The district described several concrete actions: - Paid new-educator days to orient hires to curriculum and district practices. - Revised, position-specific interview questions and expanded recruitment and interview fairs. - At least four transfer workshops for certified staff (recorded for later use). - Partnerships with universities and the Nebraska Department of Education; a new partnership with 'Patriots to Education' to recruit veteran candidates. - Targeted compensation movement for critical shortage areas, including special education and school psychologists; specific pay changes were not specified in the presentation. - Changes to extra-standard compensation and stipends: equal boys’ and girls’ coaching stipends were implemented, a debate and speech coach stipend was added, and several stipends were increased (amounts not specified). - A cap on special education caseloads and use of 'talent ambassadors'—district staff who help recruit candidates in specialized roles.

The presenter also described outreach efforts to future educators: every high school now has a future teacher club, the district will hold a future educator signing day for seniors, and the district invites more than 80 former students back each semester to maintain recruitment relationships.

Board response and next steps: Board members offered congratulatory remarks. One board member called the approaches "innovative" and said they are "paying off." Another board member, identified as Annie, noted a rise in new certified hires and encouraged continued progress. The meeting moved on to public comment; no vote or formal Board action on these HR initiatives was recorded in the transcript.

The district said it will provide more specific hiring numbers at a later time.