Papillion La Vista Community Schools is proud to be a district where roots run deep. For some staff members, the connection to PLCS goes beyond a job. It is a return to the place that shaped them. These are educators who once walked the same hallways as students, sat in the same classrooms, and grew up in the same community they now serve every day. Their stories are a testament to what makes PLCS special: a community where the bonds formed here last a lifetime, drawing people back to the place they have always called home.

Lloyd Matthews, PLHS Class of 1988

Lloyd Mathews graduated from Papillion La Vista High School as part of the 100th class of the Papillion La Vista School District. A well-rounded student, Lloyd ran track, competed on the forensics team, and even found his way to the stage in the school play. His path to teaching came by way of an unexpected nudge. His supervisor at the Omaha Housing Authority told him he thought he would make a great teacher, and Matthews took those words to heart. He returned to UNO, earned his teaching degree and two master’s degrees, and spent 13 years with Omaha Public Schools before a connection brought him back to PLCS where it all began.

Now in his 18th year at Anderson Grove Elementary, Matthews teaches sixth grade and is deeply woven into the fabric of the building and district. The full-circle nature of his journey is not lost on him. For Matthews, there is something special about helping children grow in the same community where he once did. “I can see the last house I lived in with my family from the playground,” he says. The teachers who shaped him in this district are the standard he holds himself to every day. As grad walks take place this spring, watching former students walk back through the doors of Anderson Grove never gets old. “I always feel a sense of pride, since I got to be part of their journey and help them along the way.”

Maria Moen, PLSHS Class of 2006

Maria Moen’s love of teaching started long before she ever set foot in a classroom. Growing up as a student at Carriage Hill Elementary, she spent her afternoons playing school in her basement, supplied with old textbooks and handwritten worksheets. Her teachers were her inspiration, and from an early age, she knew this was the path she would follow. After graduating from Papillion La Vista South in 2006, Moen attended UNO and completed her student teaching at Hickory Hill Elementary, where she would spend the next 14 years teaching fourth grade. “Papillion has always been home,” she says, “and having the opportunity to come back and teach in this district is really special.”

This year, Moen transitioned into a specialist role, teaching art at both Hickory Hill and Tara Heights. She now connects with over 600 students across kindergarten through sixth grade, and she would not have it any other way. When grad walks come around and former students return to the building in their caps and gowns, the moment hits close to home for Moen, who credits her own elementary teachers for shaping the educator she has become. “I hope they know I’m always cheering them on. That is really what it’s all about and why we do this work.”