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LPS outlines 'grow your own' push, says program will produce 41 new teachers by fall 2027
Summary
Superintendent Dr. John Skreda told the Lincoln Public Schools board that the district’s expanded 'grow your own' teacher pipelines and recruitment initiatives are showing early success and are expected to yield 41 new teachers by fall 2027; staff also described compensation and stipend changes and targeted recruitment for critical-shortage roles.
Dr. John Skreda, superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, told the board on March 24 that the district’s multipronged approach to staffing — including “grow your own” teacher pipelines, targeted recruitment for critical-shortage roles, and changes to extra-stipend processes — is beginning to reduce vacancies and improve retention.
“This year we will have 41 new teachers thanks specifically to our grow your own efforts,” Skreda said, describing pathway cadres in partnership with local universities and high-school “future educator” clubs that feed candidates into district classrooms. He said the district is also staying in touch with more than 80 former students who are receiving invitations to return as teachers and that those outreach efforts help bring recruits back to LPS.
Why it matters: LPS employs more than 6,000 certified and classified staff and depends on steady hiring to keep classrooms staffed. District leaders said school-based academic coaches, professional learning for teachers, paid new-educator orientation days and transfer workshops are part of a strategy to lower vacancy rates and support new hires.
Details from the presentation included: - Grow-your-own pathways and partnerships: The district said it has expanded its pathway cadres and expects the sixth cadre to launch; staff forecast 41 new teachers by fall 2027 from these efforts. - Early-childhood and high-school pipelines: LPS reported future-educator clubs in every high school and active recruitment of early-childhood special-education candidates. - Compensation and stipends: District staff described revisions to the extra-stipend (extra standard) process, adding stipends for debate and speech coaches, equalizing boys’ and girls’ coaching stipends and increasing pay for several other roles. - Critical-shortage focus: The district is concentrating recruitment and compensation adjustments on special-education teachers, speech-language pathologists and psychologists, including efforts to cap special-education caseloads and add recruitment stipends. - Recruitment outreach: Initiatives include talent ambassadors who recruit in the community, partnerships to recruit veterans, and revised interview and tenure processes.
Board members praised HR and staffing teams for progress. One member called the volume of new certified hires “very exciting,” though members also noted the district is not yet where it wants to be and urged continued focus on retention.
Next steps: Several items discussed (for example, revised stipend listings and tenure changes) will be folded into ongoing negotiations and budget discussions. District staff said they will return with more detailed numbers as hiring-season data solidifies.
