Nebraska Career and Technical Education Conference 2026

Lesson Plans, Sub Plans, Meal plans… SO MANY PLANS!
Educators are planners by nature, but when it comes to officer teams, summer planning days often become overwhelming, unfocused, or rushed. This session takes one major plan off your plate: the plan for your officer team’s summer planning day.


Designed for advisors and educators who work with student leadership teams, this workshop provides a framework for a productive, engaging, and meaningful planning day. Participants will walk through a proven agenda from almost a decade of leading teams through MAPS (our team planning experiences hosted by The Leadership Center) that balances team building, goal setting, leadership development, and actionable planning—without the chaos or burnout.


You’ll leave with practical tools, sample schedules, facilitation tips, and adaptable activities you can use with your officer team. Whether you’re a first-year advisor or a seasoned pro, this session helps you turn planning day into a focused launchpad for the year ahead—saving time, reducing stress, and empowering students to lead with clarity and confidence.

As built for the 2025 Nebraska Afterschool Conference, Maile and Abby will share their toolkit from hours of research for how to avoid burnout and what to do when it does, inevitably, hit you. 


Burnout doesn’t usually happen all at once—it creeps in through overcommitment, blurred boundaries, and the constant pressure to say “yes.” This session helps educators recognize burnout not as failure, but as a signal to realign habits, priorities, and expectations.


Grounded in neuroscience, behavior change, and real-world educator experience, From Burnt Out to Balanced introduces a practical framework using our Matchbox (burnout recovery) and Fuel Station (burnout prevention) models. Participants will identify common burnout signals, understand why motivation feels impossible when dopamine is depleted, and learn simple, realistic tools to regain momentum—without adding more to their daily plate.


Attendees will leave with a concrete burnout recovery toolbox and a proactive checklist to protect their energy during demanding seasons of the school year. This session is honest, relatable, and action-oriented—designed to help educators move out of survival mode.


Takeaway: Practical tools to recover from burnout now—and prevent it long-term.

Many students walk into interviews underprepared; not because they lack potential, but because they’ve never been taught how to prepare, and neither have their coaches! This workshop equips educators with simple, repeatable tools to help students approach interviews with confidence, clarity, and professionalism. Our team has developed an expansive library of exercises with almost two decades of helping students interview for scholarships, state officer positions, and Dairy Princess titles more confidently (just to name a few!).


This session breaks down interview preparation into teachable components: understanding what employers are really asking, structuring strong responses, practicing clear communication, and managing nerves. We don't just tell you to "Smile and don't say "Um!". Participants will learn how to coach students through both traditional and behavioral interview questions using story telling frameworks, calm their nerves and discover their experiences—even when they think they “don’t have any.”


Educators will leave with practical strategies, sample prompts, and classroom-ready activities they can immediately implement with high school or college-aged students (or even yourself!) and be of the first to hear about new curriculum being developed for this topic. Whether preparing students for jobs, internships, scholarships, or leadership opportunities, this session provides a clear roadmap to help students show up prepared and confident.

District meetings

This session will explore the unique partnership between Southeast Community College (SCC), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) in their effort to promote teaching careers in Skilled & Technical Sciences.  Attendees will learn what steps LPS has taken in their Skilled & Technical Sciences classes to expose students to the idea of becoming a Skilled & Technical Sciences teacher.  In addition, attendees will learn how LPS has partnered with SCC and UNL to promote and recruit students to enroll in STS teaching programs.

This session focuses on the value of strengthening and expanding our modern Transportation Distribution and Logistics within the Skilled and Technical Sciences program as a tool for supporting educators in their instructional practice. Drawing from real-world trade and teaching experience, the session emphasizes how automotive - based, hands on learning helps teachers grow professionally and personally, strengthens instructional relevance, and enhances student engagement. By adding TDL within other STS programs, educators gain practical content that supports quality instruction, continuous learning, and may even begin to introduce a meaningful life long hobby for both teachers and students. 


Session outcomes:

1. Understand how automotive coursework helps supports effective teaching practices.
2. Recognize the instructional value of TDL across multiple pathways and its impact on student engagement and understanding. 
3. Explore strategies for integrating hands-on, automotive-based learning that helps teachers and students professionally,personally, and maybe help create a life-long hobby. 
4. Introduce ideas for an automotive course, even if you are limited on lab space at your school, by bringing a older concept back to a modern way.  

Learn the basics of how to use SketchUp for Schools (a free program for students on a Chromebook) to create a 3D model of their future project. Learn these basic SketchUp functions: rectange (R), push/pull (P), make component, move (M), rotate (Q), dimensioning and how to get ready for printing. If time allows I will share my Google Sheets bill of materials template I use to assist students figure board feet of hardwood and percentage of plywood needed.

iscover how the Nebraska Manufacturing Credential, developed through the leadership of the Nebraska Manufacturing Alliance Council (NeMAC), equips students with the essential technical and employability skills needed for today’s manufacturing workforce. This session highlights how the credential aligns with Nebraska industry expectations, enhances Skilled & Technical Sciences instruction, and strengthens student pathways into high-demand careers. Educators will walk away with a clear understanding of the credential impact and practical steps for integrating it into their programs. 

Preparing for the State Leadership & Skills Championships can be overwhelming. To ensure you are fully equipped, Andy Christensen (contest coordinator) and Aaron Jones (State Advisor) will break down specific strategies for advisors and competitors preparing for SLSC. Additionally, this abbreviated “Championship Workshop” offers a practical template for schools and local SkillsUSA chapters to use collaboratively.

The session explores athletic training as a dynamic healthcare profession, highlighting educational pathways, certification requirements, and diverse employment settings. Participants will examine the roles and responsibilities of athletic trainers across secondary schools, colleges, professional sports, healthcare systems, and emerging practice areas. Key learning outcomes include understanding professional standards and scope of practice, identifying career opportunities and work environments, and recognizing the skills needed for success in athletic training. Attendees will gain practical insight to support informed academic, career, or advising decisions within the profession.