Meet Studia Vitae instructor Laura Piel

Laura Piel serves as middle school English, language arts and reading teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Roselle, Illinois. In January, Piel will also serve as an instructor for Concordia University, Nebraska’s new non-credit continuing education and lifelong learning program called Studia Vitae, teaching a course titled “Choosing and Using Children’s Literature with Discernment: Grades 3-8.” Studia Vitae offers Christ-centered continuing education opportunities in a variety of focused areas through an online scheduled and self-paced learning platform.   

Piel has a degree in secondary education English from Concordia University, Chicago as well as a master of education in curriculum and instruction for adolescent literacy. In her fourteen years as a teacher, Piel has implemented new curriculum for middle school reading classes and has helped develop a 3rd-8th grade reading program. She has also worked as an adjunct professor at Concordia University, Chicago. Over the years, she has led sectionals and workshops on reading, writing and grammar instruction for several conferences, including the Lutheran Education Association, the LCMS Northern Illinois District Educator Conference, CLEF, the Rockford Lutheran Professional Development Conference and the annual Reading Conference hosted by Concordia University, Chicago and the West Suburban Reading Council. 

Piel will present Choosing and Using Children’s Literature with Discernment: Grades 3-8 on Thursdays from January 12 to February 20, 2026, at 7 p.m. CST. 

In Piel’s course, participants will explore best practices for choosing novels for grades 3–8 with intentional Christian discernment. Together, participants will examine how to evaluate texts through a Biblical lens, how to recognize and utilize moments of faith intersectionality and how to guide students toward thoughtful reflection grounded in Lutheran theology. Participants will gain practical strategies, curated resources, recommended reading lists and ready-to-use tools you can immediately implement in the classroom.  

Registration is now open for this course and addition offerings in Concordia University, Nebraska’s Studia Vitae program. Each CEU course is $150 and is delivered in six one-hour sessions. Discounts are available for program participants who are members of preferred partner organizations. The short, focused sessions are available as scheduled webinars that will also be recorded for future viewing. Enrollment is flexible and open to anyone with no prerequisites required, and no commitment is needed to take additional classes.   

Registration is available at ceu.cune.edu.   

For more information about Studia Vitae, please visit cune.edu/ceu.   

For more information about preferred partnerships, please visit cune.edu/partners.