Switching gears: Palmer prepares students for life's journey at Belmont

Lindsey Palmer will organize educational journeys for Lincoln Public Schools students that are fun, instructional and memorable this year.
 
The former travel agent is embarking on a second career as a physical education teacher at Belmont Elementary School. Palmer has previous educational experience, as he has coached women’s basketball at Nebraska Wesleyan University, track and field at North Star High School and activities at Goodrich Middle School.
 
Now, he is preparing to help Belmont students reach winning destinations through health and physical education.

 
“It’s what every teacher, I would say, wants to do,” Palmer said. “I felt I could make more of an impact here, more of a difference here than being a travel agent. Working with kids, when it comes down to working with the college kids, they already know what path they’re on, they already know what major they’re doing.
 
“But with these young minds, they’re just getting started out in their journey. I’m here to help them succeed and find what they love.”
 
LPS Director of Continuous Improvement and Professional Learning Amy Clark and Belmont Principal Kim Rosenthal smiled as they watched Palmer lead a class during the first week of school. Palmer went over the rules of a game with students and helped them start the activity on the gym floor. He then donned a green mesh jersey and joined in the fun, which created many happy faces in the elementary crowd.

 
“He wants to make a positive difference in our community, so it’s awesome that he chose to come back and serve in this way at Belmont,” Clark said. “It’s incredible for LPS.”
 
“We’re super impressed with Lindsey,” Rosenthal said. “He is showing a lot of positive traits that we would want in a new teacher. He is really focused on building relationships with kids. He has worked a lot on building procedures and teams, and he is exactly where we would want him to be as a first-year teacher.”
 
Palmer moved to Lincoln from Stockton, Calif., with his family when he was young. He graduated from North Star High School in 2010 and competed in football, basketball and track and field for the Navigators. He later worked with people from across the city as a travel agent.

 
Palmer spent much of his free time coaching students at secondary and collegiate levels. He always enjoyed helping them improve on the basketball court and track lanes, and he realized a teaching career would allow him to guide students in much the same way. He also recognized that his coaching resume would be a major asset for him in his new profession.
 
“It really does help when it comes to building relationships with the kids,” Palmer said. “It’s helped me understand everybody’s unique personality, just like I have to learn every player’s unique playing style.”

 
Palmer officially began his LPS career in early August during a weeklong series of classes at Southwest High School. The orientation week included sessions about instructional strategies, managing classroom routines and the physical education curriculum at LPS. Palmer also joined more than 300 new educators for presentations about professionalism, communications, school policies, educational services, school security, lesson plans and leadership.
 
Palmer said his opening few days made it clear that he had made a positive career switch.
 
“I really enjoyed that first week getting to know my colleagues,” Palmer said. “It seemed like they all have a pretty unique story to tell.”
 
Palmer said he experienced the same type of joy in his first week working with students. During one class, students kept their eyes fixed on him the entire time he was explaining the rules of their new P.E. game. They responded right away when he blew his whistle to stop the game, and they smiled with each other as they ended their day by dribbling basketballs.
 
“I have been really loving getting to know the kids as well,” Palmer said. “It is really diverse. The culture here is very strong at Belmont.”

 
Palmer said it is important to make students feel welcomed and appreciated in class. He said memorizing their names - approximately 722 of them - is a key step in making that happen.
 
“It may seem simple, but I’m trying to learn names,” Palmer said. “For this first goal, I’m going to keep it simple. I’m going to learn these names and get them down hopefully in the next few weeks, so I can be on a first-name basis with all my kids, so I can build those positive relationships.”
 
Clark said she was impressed with Palmer’s calming and energetic presence at Belmont. She felt he was a shining example of the thousands of teachers who are lending their talents to the LPS community.
 
“We’re always looking for anyone who wants to make an impact as a LPS teacher,” Clark said. “We want to support them the best that we can.”
 
Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---