Staff Spotlight: Katelyn Voigt - school psychologist at Southwest High School

October 25, 2024

Every week, we’ll shine a spotlight on one Lincoln Public Schools staff member! Get to know the wonderful people making a positive impact across various areas within LPS. This week, meet Katelyn Voigt, school psychologist at Southwest High School.

“Katelyn is a thoughtful, data-based leader within our department as well as Southwest. She is not afraid to advocate for changes in practice, especially when they benefit students and the school psychologist department as a whole. She exudes calmness and peace and is a valued team member at her building. She encourages and is a great example for work-life balance and has numerous really cool hobbies outside of work. Katelyn is creative and follows through on what she says she is going to do. I love working with her!” - Kailee Gilliland, school psychologist.

In a few sentences, briefly describe your role at LPS.
I am a school psychologist, currently serving Lincoln Southwest High School. Within the LPS School Psychology Department, I serve as a team leader and a member of the autism assessment team. My role allows me not only to help learners learn and teachers teach, but also to support ongoing professional development alongside my colleagues and to promote neurodiversity-affirming practices that create a supportive environment for all students.

How long have you worked for LPS?
This is my third year with LPS.

What inspired you to become part of the education field at LPS?
I come from a family of educators—we often joke around the kitchen table that we are just one administrator shy of a full multidisciplinary team. I was drawn to the practice of school psychology specifically because school psychologists are uniquely positioned to impact the lives of students, staff and families at both the individual and systems level. We get to work behind the scenes playing the role of investigator when problem-solving to help students find success at school. I love the collaborative approach to our work, not just working one-on-one with individual students but also hand-in-hand with general education and special education teachers, school counselors, school social workers, speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, and administrators.

What has been your favorite part of working here? What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding?
My favorite part of working in LPS is being part of a broader network of knowledgeable and supportive colleagues. I started my career in a smaller Nebraska school district, and what I love about LPS is that no matter the challenge, there is always someone I can reach out to who will be there to share their expertise and talk through different approaches to solve a problem.

The most rewarding aspect of my job is helping our students grow and learn in ways that are meaningful to them, given each student's individual strengths, educational needs and plans for life beyond high school.

Did you attend LPS as a student? If so, which school(s)? If not, where are you from?
I graduated from Kearney High School in Kearney, Neb. Go Bearcats!

What path did you take after completing your formal education?
I had the opportunity to earn my Bachelor of Arts in psychology as a Regents Scholar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) in 2011. I later returned to UNL to earn my Master of Arts in educational psychology and Educational Specialist in school psychology.

What do you enjoy most about the Lincoln community?
What I enjoy most about Lincoln is the wide variety of opportunities for community engagement. From our farmers markets to Jazz in June, Hub & Soul and Art in the Garden, you can always find ways to connect and form relationships with people you may not have encountered otherwise.

What is your favorite childhood book or a book that has influenced your life positively?
One of my favorite childhood books is “Stellaluna” by Janell Cannon. “Stellaluna” tells the story of a bat who finds herself being raised by birds after being separated from her mother. The mother bird tries to shape Stellaluna's behavior to make her appear more bird-like until she is finally reunited with her mother and family of bats. Throughout the story, you come to realize that Stellaluna's behaviors were never bad nor good, but rather representative of a contextual mismatch between the lives of birds and bats. Working primarily with students with disabilities, I am reminded that they encounter many contextual mismatches between their individual abilities and needs as learners and the school environment. My goal as an educator is to help these students feel a little less like a bat in a bird's world.

Share a shout out to a teacher who impacted your life.
I'd like to give a shout out to my first and third grade teacher, Mrs. Bennett, at Meadowlark Elementary School. Mrs. Bennett's enthusiasm, passion and drive to go above-and-beyond in creating an engaging classroom environment for her students sparked my passion for lifelong learning!

Do you know a LPS staff member we should feature for Staff Spotlight? Fill out this form to nominate them!

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