Greetings—We are now in the third day of recovery from the devastation of the fire at the LPS District Office building. We are doing very well as plans are coming together to obtain alternative locations so that our employees can get back to work. I am so impressed with the positive attitudes and personal grit and determination that is being displayed by all. We WILL come back stronger than we were.
It looks like the Experian building will be one of our locations but it won’t be enough space for all our needs. We are negotiating with a couple private companies for similar space and that might take longer. I want to thank Mayor Beutler for reaching out Tuesday morning with the offer of Experian and anything else we need to get our “guts” put back together.
We are hopeful that our telephone and e-mail system will be functional by early next week. Our Information Technology folks have been working round-the-clock to make this happen. I can only imagine how complex those problems are.
There is much more work to do that will include sweat and tears but we will get there. If you have ideas or questions please feel free to use this blog.
Thanks for all your positive thoughts,
steve
Steve, Your leadership and the leadership of all in LPS is truly amazing at this very unexpected and trying time! Out of adversity comes so much strength of the human will and with leaders working with positive attitudes and progressively, as you said, we will be stronger because of it! Please let it be known what is needed along the way! Day by day…
Dr. Joel, My heart is extremely sadden by this tragedy and the fact that the LPS family has to deal with this now. As a parent of a LPS student, I want to express just how thankful I am that we have such positive leadership in this challenging time. You are doing a wonderful job of keeping us all updated on how things are proceeding. The LPS family is strong and resilient. I understand that just because the fire is over that the grieving and emotional challenges will continue. Please remind everyone just how much the community is behind them and that we will do whatever it takes to help the LPS family recover bigger and better than before. We love all that you and your staff do. I truly hope they are all aware of that. If there is anything that parents can do to help, please ask. Best wishes and stay strong.
Dear Dr. Joel and members of the school board,
I have worked as a braillist for LPS for almost two years now. It is a wonderful job and I have really enjoyed working with the staff (there are so many really great people) at LPSDO. I really appreciate your decision to keep us all on the payroll and I want to thank you for continuing to pay us as everyone works around the clock to get us all back to work. I thank you again from the bottom of my heart.
Question: Will there be word about a fundraiser or best to contact the LPS foundation? Our most valuable resource is the LPS staff. They survived and will continue to thrive with time and compassion. Commendable leadership!
Steve,
What a mess that fire has created for you and your people at LPS! The Lincoln community is mighty lucky to have a leader of your quality. Best wishes for a quick and efficient recovery from this dreadful disaster.
Rob Bligh
17516 Karen Street
Omaha, NE 68135
Thank you for continuing to be a positive voice during a very disturbing time…even when the news might not be the rosiest. I am an LPS employee, and it makes me very proud to see the way the staff is responding. When you have the opportunity, please make sure to thank the staff members who are working around the clock to get the district back–not on its feet because it has landed on its feet. But thank them for working so hard to get us back to where we were just five days ago.
Having a blog is a great way to get the community involved with the schools. As you work through this challange to get back up, finding time to blog may come as a premium. Often Lincoln people are stone walled when they suggest things to LPS officials via individual department heads. A blog will go a long way to bridge the “seperation gap” that is in the LPS orginization. Also a good place for the employee’s to voice concerns without retaliation by supervisors. Thanks for asking for suggestions, great leaders do this and I admire this quality in a person.
Thanks Steve, for all the positive leadership you give to the district. We will come back stronger and with great pride. The GREAT thing about LPS, we are a TEAM from the bottom up to the top. Thanks for all your hard work on this! The wonderful and great thing about the mid-west, when there is trouble they all come together!!!
Hello Dr. Joel and the all the members of the LPS family. I’m a new teacher – fresh out of college, and I was hired for the 2011-12 school year to teach French at Schoo and at North Star. I just have to tell you all how amazing you are. I’ve been watching all the news reports about the fire from my current home in Colorado, via 1011now.com and journalstar.com, along with Facebook and Twitter. What a horrible disaster but I am so happy with the way that LPS is dealing with things, at least from the prospective of a future member of the organization. It makes me so happy, so excited to be joining the LPS family and I cannot, CANNOT wait to be a part of such an amazing organization with an amazing group of people. LPS is, indeed, a strong organization, as Lincoln is a strong city and we will get past this disaster and will be a stronger organization because of it.
At any point where community volunteer help would be useful, be sure to ask. This is like any natural disaster where people are willing to pitch in and help shore up river dikes in flood. I will help. 402-304-3074.
Lincoln is a strong community and LPS is a strong district. I hope everything falls into place and the district gets back on it’s feet stronger than before. Best of luck in your endevore.