LPS world language teachers honored for classroom talents

November 18, 2024

Terri Dimon, Ashton Krueger and Kelleen Rosebaugh are proving that the word “excellence” is spoken in every language.
 
The three Lincoln Public Schools teachers earned prestigious awards at the Nebraska International Languages Association (NILA) Fall Conference. Dimon received the Nebraska French Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Association of Teachers of French (NATF), and Rosebaugh received the Nebraska German Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Association of Teachers of German (NATG). Krueger received the New World Language Teacher of the Year Award from NILA.
 
LPS Curriculum Specialist for World Language Katie Damgaard said Dimon, Krueger and Rosebaugh are role models because of their commitment to excellence in the classroom.
 
“We are thrilled to celebrate the achievements of three exceptional teachers who were honored at the 2024 Nebraska International Languages Association Conference,” Damgaard said. “These awards highlight the outstanding contributions these educators make to their students, schools and communities.”
 
Terri Dimon

Dimon leads French classes at Standing Bear High School and has been a teacher for nearly three decades. She was grateful to receive the state award in front of many friends at the conference.
 
“I was very surprised, but in a positive way,” Dimon said. “It means a lot to have such positive support from colleagues I have worked with through the years and students whom I have had the pleasure of teaching.”

 
Dimon worked at Pound Middle School for 13 years and led Southeast High School students for 14 years. She retired for two years before joining Standing Bear’s staff this fall to jumpstart the French program.
 
Southeast High School Spanish teacher Teresa Barta shared a classroom with Dimon for many years. She said Dimon has been “an inspiration, role model and great friend” to her ever since they first met.
 
“She is a true joy to be around and is so deserving of this award,” Barta said. “To me, she is a natural-born teacher and leader, a wildflower that thrives wherever she is planted, and we are infinitely lucky to have her around to brighten our days.”

 
Sara Parkening was hired in 2008 to become the French teacher at Pound after Dimon moved to Southeast. Parkening said it has been a privilege to work with Dimon on a wide range of projects.
 
“Terri has continued to be a mentor to me my entire teaching career,” Parkening said. “I had the pleasure of co-leading two trips to France with Terri, who felt it important to provide her students with this opportunity to extend their learning beyond the classroom and create memories of a lifetime. Her incredible knowledge of history and art made the trips even more enriching.”

 
Dimon’s first experience with world languages came when she took German classes at Waverly High School. Her life transformed after she became an exchange student in Germany for a summer.
 
“When I returned, I was a different person, ready to see the world and learn about different cultures,” Dimon said. “The windows to the world had been opened. When I switched to French in college, I fell in love with that language, majored in it and got to live in southern France for a year. It was during this time I got to teach for the first time, and I realized it suited me. I have been passionate about language teaching since then.”
 
Barta said Dimon’s enthusiasm has made a positive ripple effect across the entire LPS community. Her French classes were popular courses for students both at Pound and Southeast, and she has encouraged many fellow teachers with her relationship-building talents.

 
“She continues to touch hundreds of lives every year and I keep watching her in awe,” Barta said.
 
Dimon said it is rewarding to watch high school students make progress in all aspects of the French language.
 
“I love seeing their skills grow from level to level, and start having the realization that they can travel the world if they want, study abroad and become a ‘citizen of the world,’” Dimon said. “I love seeing their intellectual orbit expand, and frankly, I love seeing them just have fun with French! It’s one of the greatest jobs out there!”
 
Ashton Krueger

Krueger is helping East High School students become fluent in German with her outgoing and upbeat teaching style. She said it is fun watching dozens of Spartans gain confidence in their language skills.
 
“Teaching German to high school students brings me so much joy!” Krueger said. “My absolute favorite part is building relationships with my students. Since I’m the only German teacher at Lincoln East, students taking multiple years of German get to know me well, and I get to know them super well too!
 
“I love surprising them with interesting facts about German-speaking countries, the language and culture, and I also enjoy those little ‘a-ha’ moments when a hard concept finally clicks for a student.”

 
NILA President Danielle Fulcher teaches Spanish at Northwest High School and first met Krueger this past summer. They were members of a 16-person advisory panel that discussed ways to raise awareness about the importance of world languages in Nebraska. They also spent four days with a group that created teaching materials for a statewide educational webpage.
 
Fulcher said it immediately became clear that Krueger was destined for great things. The NILA New World Language Teacher of the Year Award is presented to someone who shows noteworthy promise during their first five years in education.

 
“She was an absolute standout amongst even some of our seasoned, veteran teachers,” Fulcher said. “She did not hesitate to share her insightful and sometimes brilliant ideas. I was absolutely thrilled that she won the award. I can think of no one better deserving.”
 
Krueger said Angie Swenson, her German teacher at Luverne (Minn.) High School, inspired her interest in the language. Krueger was a National Honor Society student at Luverne, and she brought her academic and servant-hearted credentials with her to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
 
Krueger studied at the prestigious Humboldt Institute in Berlin for three months before beginning a three-month internship in the city in 2019. She helped refugees practice the German language and led them on activities such as field trips to parks. She also supported many students and families through tutoring and mentoring programs in Lincoln.

 
Krueger attended graduate school at UNL and earned a master’s degree in modern languages and literatures. She translated a literary novel from German to English as part of her master’s thesis. She also worked with undergraduate students in a summer language and theater program in Berlin for three months in 2022.
 
Krueger said she was stunned when she learned she had been selected as this year’s state award recipient.
 
“I was genuinely surprised by the award,” Krueger said. “As I accepted it, I was even shaking a little in disbelief – I truly hadn’t expected to win anything at NILA. I feel incredibly honored to have been nominated and selected and deeply humbled, as I have the privilege of working alongside some of the most amazing colleagues here in Lincoln.”

 
Fulcher said it is encouraging to watch Krueger use her many talents to help LPS students.
 
“Seeing Ashton become such a valuable member of LPS is not only inspiring for Lincoln Public Schools, but for all world language teachers everywhere,” Fulcher said. “Across the country, world language programs are disappearing, and there are fewer and fewer world language teachers entering the profession.
 
“Seeing Ashton represent how new teachers can make a difference serves as a refreshing reminder of the hope a new teacher can bring to the profession and how much they are desperately needed. I am excited to see what Ashton will do for her German students in the future.”
 
Kelleen Rosebaugh
 
Rosebaugh teaches German classes at Southeast High School and Schoo Middle School. She said it is exciting to help students of all ages learn more about the nouns, verbs and phrases found in the German language.
 
“I love teaching my students,” Rosebaugh said. “Each of them have such different interests, and I get to learn so much about them and niche arts and programs I would never have otherwise encountered.”

 
NATG President Wendy Brennan led the selection process for this year’s award. She said Rosebaugh has been very active in professional organizations and has encouraged many students to begin and continue German language courses.
 
“We received letters of recommendation from administrators, colleagues and other German teachers attesting to Kelleen’s professionalism, involvement and hard work in and outside the classroom,” Brennan said. “She is an asset to world language education in Nebraska!”

 
Trinia Perigo was NATG president in 2023-24 and has worked with Rosebaugh at many state events. She said Rosebaugh has been a difference-maker with her creativity, work ethic and positive personality.
 
“She is an incredible teacher,” Perigo said. “It is so important for our language programs around the state to have teachers like her, not only because she is an idea machine for all of us as teachers, but because she is the kind of teacher that makes learning fun and inspires kids to join in. Her program is growing, and she has found ways to bring German to younger learners so that those learners will join in as they grow. She opens a lot of doors for new language learners!”
 
Rosebaugh became fascinated with the German language when she attended Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Her time in those classes motivated her to head east to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to prepare for her future career.
 
“I knew I wanted to be a teacher from a young age, so when I got to high school I was interested in a lot of different courses, and German was the most interesting,” Rosebaugh said. “I learned a language and I learned about history, art, science and storytelling. My teacher Bob Koepplin was amazing and inspired me to be a German teacher.”

 
Rosebaugh deepened her knowledge of Germany by traveling there twice in college. She spent six months in the country through UNL’s Deutsch in Deutschland program, and she returned to Europe after earning a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Scholarship in April 2014. She taught English to students in German classrooms at St. Ursulas Gymnasium in Geilenkirchen as part of her Fulbright experience.
 
Those accomplishments foreshadowed the good things to come in Rosebaugh’s career. She won the NILA New World Language Teacher of the Year Award in 2019 for her innovative work at Southeast, and she began participating in many professional development conferences across the United States. She was NATG president in 2020-21 and currently serves as NILA’s communications and program chairperson.

 
Rosebaugh is also a mentor to family members living in Idaho and Montana. One of her sisters teaches German at a school district in Montana, and they are able to brainstorm together about ideas and activities for their classes.

Perigo said Rosebaugh is well-respected across the state and is well-deserving of every honor she receives.
 
“Kelleen is an incredible asset to our team of German teachers here in Nebraska,” Perigo said. “She is the kind of teacher that is constantly coming up with new ideas and is eager to help and share in any way she can.”

Learn more about our World Language department on our website at https://home.lps.org/worldlanguage/.

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