GIPS Announces New Westridge Assistant Principal, Elizabeth "Libby" Banderas
GRAND ISLAND, (Neb.) — Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) is pleased to announce Mrs. 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 & Learning Facilitator for LPS. Previously, she served as the Bryan Elementary 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 carries a B.A. in 7-12 Language Arts from the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK), a Masters in Education Curriculum & Instruction also from UNK, and is currently pursuing an additional Masters in Educational Leadership (PK-12) from Doane University.
Speaking to her exciting opportunity to join Westridge, Libby shared, “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 heels of Mrs. Tracy Jakubowski, a current Westridge Assistant Principal, set to serve as the Assistant High School Principal at Aurora Public Schools starting this Summer.
Mr. 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 Mrs. 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 Mrs. Banderas join the efforts of empowering students at Westridge!