Happy holidays…and answers to your questions

This is my favorite time of year and I want to wish each of you a happy and joyous holiday with family and friends. Each year at this time I look forward to a little slower pace and time with family (we are expecting our first grandson any day now) …

Changing the World: One Person at a Time

Nice title, eh?  Actually, it was the title of my recent TedX Talk – presented earlier this week at the second annual TedX event in Lincoln (affiliated with TED Talks, a nonprofit website that features a broad variety of thousands of online speeches).  This year’s talk gave me the opportunity …

Vibrant, growing community = increased LPS student numbers

The recent release of the student enrollment numbers at Lincoln Public Schools is a great sign of a vibrant and progressive community.  While our increase was less than last year, it was greater than we projected.  The change in kindergarten eligibility – from children born before Oct. 15 to those …

Is it really September?

Hard to believe it is already September – whatever happened to June, July and August? In the old days those were the top three mythical reasons that some folks went into education, but today educators work straight through the summer months. And right now we’re already almost four weeks into …

First day is the best day

For me, today is the best day of the school year.  This morning I was able to visit four schools (Adams, Hill, Zeman and Humann elementary schools) and capture the excitement of kids and teachers as they greeted each other.   The moments were precious, whether it was watching kindergarten dad consoling …

I think we are getting close…

Despite the heat of mid-July in Nebraska, educators can already sense that the opening of the 2012-13 school year is getting closer with everyone at Lincoln Public Schools preparing to start once again. As superintendent, I know that the end of summer has arrived each year when we hold our …

Envisioning 2012-13 goals to make great things happen

I have always been goal oriented.  I learned as a youth that without goals you never know where you are going.  Stephen Covey encourages people to establish goals in all the critical areas of life such as family, relationships and work.  I can’t say that I still adhere to once-a-week …

A taste of Chinese economy, culture, language and food

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel is on a two-week trip to China, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  The experience is an educational and cultural exchange between the Confucius Institute and Xi’an Jiaotong University, sister university of UNL. The traveling group includes representatives from Lincoln …

A journey of warriors, educational exchanges and wrong turns

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel is on a two-week trip to China, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  The experience is an educational and cultural exchange between the Confucius Institute and Xi’an Jiaotong University, sister university of UNL. The traveling group includes representatives from Lincoln …

A taste of education in China

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel is on a two-week trip to China, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  The experience is an educational and cultural exchange between the Confucius Institute and Xi’an Jiaotong University, sister university of UNL. The traveling group includes representatives from Lincoln …