The first two weeks of June are the best for a Midwest superintendent. The frenzy represented by the end of a school year (graduations, retirement celebrations and numerous invitations to student and staff events) gives way to a few days of reflecting on the school year, planning summer meetings, and catching up on reading. We know these two weeks also involve some hiring, budget preparation, planning retreats and vacations, but the pace is a bit more relaxed.
Sadly, these two weeks go by entirely too quickly.
The 2015-16 school year was another excellent year at Lincoln Public Schools. One highlight was the opening of The Career Academy with close to 300 students in 13 pathways. A work in progress, this option for students will only get stronger as the word gets out that the graduates of TCA have college credits and internships lined up with our local community partners in business and industry. In fact, we anticipate more than 400 students will enroll next year.
Another highlight has been the work of our Success Schools for students with behavior issues. Like TCA, we know these programs are evolving to help students facing unique challenges find their path to success. These are intense programs that provide a caring environment strongly based upon building supportive relationships, offering alternatives, and searching for what each student needs to be successful, rather than placing students into pre-determined programming. Our end goal is to help them return to their home schools and become productive citizens in our community. As our overall enrollment expands, so does the number of students needing this type of support.
As we look to 2016-17, we anticipate more than 950 new students in our school district. Although we are surprised how dramatically our student growth has been (and likely to continue), we know our community will continue to grow as employment opportunities expand city-wide.
To address some of the challenges posed by crowded schools, the Lincoln Board of Education recently moved to place modest restrictions on transfers into Lincoln North Star High School that will go into effect for the 2017-18 school year.
We are also excited about the opening of Wysong Elementary School this fall. We anticipate Wysong will have more than 300 students on the first day (earlier projections were around 250). The Nuernberger Education Center will also open its doors during the 2016-17 school year.
This year, the instructional technology plan moved aggressively to provide Chromebooks for all 3-6 graders. We are so thankful for the great work of our technology and curriculum staff who have done an amazing job of bringing this transformation to scale. As many know, this is a large undertaking and truly represents second-order change that will require teachers and administrators to learn new skills. I am confident that the incredibly talented staff and leadership of this school district are up to the challenge.
As I write this, the School Board is planning for their annual retreat in which they will review past work with an eye toward moving LPS forward. Many in the community know that we have an excellent board, but many also don’t understand how much time these community servants dedicate to building an excellent support system for each and every one of our students. If you believe that our school district is a national leader in student success, thank them for their service. Their willingness to acquire and allocate resources strategically allows us to align our resources with our strategic goals. That has proven to be an excellent formula for staying focused on the most important work of our schools: the success of ALL students.
Have a great summer,
Steve Joel
