Elizabeth "Libby" Banderas (Courtesy photo)
GRAND ISLAND – Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) is announcing that Elizabeth “Libby” Banderas will be joining the district as an assistant principal at Westridge Middle School in the 2026-27 school year.
Libby Banderas comes to GIPS with a decade of teaching, coaching, and leadership experience from Lexington Public Schools (LPS).
Most recently, Banderas has been serving as the Teaching and Learning Facilitator for LPS.
Previously, she served as the Bryan Elementary School Instructional Coach for the last three years at Lexington. Prior to that role, she served as an English teacher at Lexington High.
Throughout the last ten years, she has also served as an Assistant Volleyball Coach and Assistant Girls Wrestling Coach. Banderas has a bachelor’s degree in 7-12 Language Arts from the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK), a master’s degree in Education Curriculum & Instruction also from UNK, and is currently pursuing an additional master’s degree in Educational Leadership (PK-12) from Doane University.
Speaking to her exciting opportunity to join Westridge, Banderas said, “I look forward to serving the students and families of Westridge Middle School. While grateful for my time at Lexington, I’m also very excited to step into this new role and begin working alongside the staff.”
This move comes on the departure of Tracy Jakubowski, a current Westridge assistant principal, set to serve as the assistant high school principal at Aurora Public Schools starting this Summer.
Matt Fisher, GIPS Superintendent, affirmed the moves of bringing Banderas to Westridge and to GIPS.
“It is always exciting to be able to bring excellent educators into our buildings.” Fisher said, “Mrs. Banderas comes with a strong background in educational leadership,and we are pleased to have her joining the GIPS district.”
As Banderas looks to move into her new role early this summer; the district will be scheduling opportunities for staff, students, and families to connect with her before the 2026-27 school year. Grand Island Public Schools is excited to see Banderas join the efforts of empowering students at Westridge!
