Highlights of the 10/10 Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting

The Lincoln Board of Education met for its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. 

Special reports, presentations and celebrations of success

Staff celebrations

LPS Communications Team
The Lincoln Public Schools Communications Team received recognition for its work by receiving 20 Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards presented by the National School Public Relations Association in July 2023 for communication occurring during the 2022-2023 school year.

The award-winning work included graphic design, written publication, video work and social media content. Each entry is judged on the overall excellence of the entry as well as its quality compared to other entries in the category. The top award in each category is the Award of Excellence. Awards of Merit and Honorable Mentions are also given in each category. A record number 1,800-plus entries were submitted in 2023.

Members of the nationally award winning communications team led by Executive Director Mindy Burbach include Marlenia Thornton, Chris Warner, Brian Fitzgerald, Joshua Genrich, David Koehn, Brian Seifferlein, BriAna Wycoff, Otilio Meza, Brent Hardin, Emily Anton, Julie Dansky and Leo Lukin.

David Koehn and Brian Seifferlein, LPS Multimedia Content and Broadcast Technicians
David Koehn and Brian Seifferlein are multimedia and broadcast technicians in the Lincoln Public Schools Library Services Department that have created a video series titled ‘The Seat Beside You’ to help share the stories of the students and staff of Lincoln Public Schools. This series helps others have a better understanding of the person in the seat beside them, making our schools and community become stronger.

The World of Lisbeth, is the story of a young girl who immigrated from Guatemala with her mother Hilda. Hilda had to make a hard decision to leave her family behind in order to get her daughter the medical treatment and education she needed. This 17 minute documentary shows their experience in a new country and the LPS staff members who help them.

David and Brian learned in July of 2023 that their video featuring Lisbeth won the Regional Emmy Award in the category of Education/Schools - Long Form Content from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Heartland Chapter.

First reading

Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln

The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.
 
The proposal assigns the newly annexed area of East Dominion Estates to Robinson Elementary School, Culler Middle School and East High School.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote at the next meeting.

Policy 4760- Standards of Ethical and Professional Performance- Certificated Staff

New circumstances or changes in legislation or regulation from the state or federal government requires the school district to make minor updates to align existing policy without changing the original leadership or organizational intent of the Board.

Policy 4760 is being amended to clarify that teachers have a responsibility to read and comply with expectations set forth by formal plans that address student needs. 

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the revisions at the next meeting.

Second reading

Lincoln Community Learning Centers Strategic Planning

Lincoln CLCs began serving four Title I eligible elementary schools with two lead agency partners in 1999. Over the past 24 years, the CLC Initiative has grown to its current capacity of serving 30 schools with 10 lead agency partners. 

All CLC services are provided during non-school hours or periods when school is not in session including non-school days and summer. The CLC programs and activities are designed to build on the capacity of community partners and neighborhood schools.  

Each site has an academic focus to assist participating students in meeting state and local academic achievement standards. Families of students served may also receive services in areas that support family literacy, health, other family support services and childcare. 

The previous CLC Strategic Plan was developed and implemented in 2015, and many of the goals set forth in that strategic plan have been accomplished. 

The Board voted to approve the proposal to partner with the Institute of Educational Leadership and Coalition for Community Schools to lead the Lincoln CLCs in a Strategic Planning Process. The cost of the services would be approximately $20,000, and would be paid out of the CLC's allocated budget. No additional funds from the LPS budget would be requested.

Informational items and reports

Strategic Plan Steering Committee

Chair Kathy Danek reported that the in-person community sessions occurred over the last two weeks. This provided an opportunity for community members to have conversations about the proposed plan. Danek thanked the staff who serve as facilitators at these meetings. 

There is a virtual meeting for community members to also provide feedback. Information and the registration link can be found on the website: https://home.lps.org/strategicplan.

Superintendent Update

LPS Superintendent Paul Gausman provided an update during the meeting. As part of his update, Gausman shared information about an upcoming screening of the Emmy award-winning documentary that will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at noon. The community is invited to attend in person or virtually on the LPS website.

Gausman also promoted the 42nd Annual Lincoln Public Schools Marching Invitational taking place on Saturday at Seacrest Field.

During the report, Gausman also presented Nebraska Association of School Board awards to Board President Lanny Boswell and member Bob Rauner. Rauner received a Level III award, and Boswell received a Level VII award for participation in NASB programs, events, workshops, and their service to the organization.

“In an ever-changing world, providing high quality education for all students proves challenging,” said Gausman. “Our school board members are life-long learners who actively participate in learning about issues and searching for solutions. Governing a public school district means possessing a vast range of knowledge in areas such as school law, curriculum, finance, labor relations, community relations, policy, fiscal accountability, advocacy, and proper board meeting procedures. And our Board members do all this while volunteering their time – they go above and beyond without one cent of pay. Thank you for all you do.”

Public comment

There were nine individuals that addressed the Board during public comment. You can watch the public comment as part of the full meeting video here.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights Lincoln Public Schools. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured a highlight of the Heartland Emmy award-winning documentary “World of Lisbeth”. 

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