In August my wife and I were checking out at Hy-Vee, and the student who was bagging our groceries looked straight at me and said he hoped this was the year Lincoln Public Schools kids would get their true allotment of snow days. My wife asked him what he meant …
As the summer has passed the halfway mark, everyone at Lincoln Public Schools has turned their attention to the beginning of a new school year. The brief lull our school district experiences in June allows us to recharge our batteries, spend some quality time with family and get in some …
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 …
Recently I had the pleasure of working with a group of emerging national school superintendents who are training to become leaders of urban (city) districts. These are the districts that are chronically underfunded and rife with political turmoil – districts where leaders are often pushed to accelerate change rapidly in …
My New Year’s resolution is to have no snow days this school year. There is often one golden year each decade in a superintendent’s life when all the major storms fall on weekends and holidays. I think this might be the year. Too bad that I don’t really believe in …
Recently I had moments of special gratitude for the miracles public education can create for our students and families – moments that went above and beyond my everyday experiences. Last week I ventured to Lincoln North Star High School to visit with several English Language Learner (ELL) students who were …
This past week has certainly been interesting and enlightening with local, state and national voices. Listening to the discussion regarding state aid and property tax relief – taking place with the State Legislature’s joint Revenue and Education Committees earlier this week– gave insight to the difficulties associated with the many …
The beginning of the school year is always a highlight for me. From visiting schools to attending extracurricular events, I get tremendous joy from seeing our students and staff in action. This year was especially meaningful at Lincoln Public Schools as we opened The Career Academy on the first day …
This was also posted in the Lincoln Journal Star as a guest column. When Andrey Naidenoff came to Lincoln Public Schools in ninth grade, his father was in prison and his mother struggled with addiction. This spring he became an award-winning 2015 graduate of Southwest High School after transforming his …
One again, the summer is flying by. When you have the privilege of working for an organization like Lincoln Public Schools, the days and weeks are busy – and enjoyable. Much good work is taking place over these summer months to make certain we lay the foundation to improve the educational …
