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Posted on August 30, 2018

1st Job-Lincoln connects students to potential IT careers

Lincoln Public Schools joined community organizations and businesses on July 27 to celebrate a program that matches students with their first jobs, typically in the information technology field.

The event, held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Business building, honored the students, business leaders and organizations involved with 1st Job-Lincoln. The program was developed five years ago as a way to introduce Lincoln high school students to the professional world. Developed by the Lincoln Human Resource Management Association (LHRMA), it teaches students about resumes, interviewing and professionalism, and matches high school students with paid internships.

“We are focusing on workforce readiness, the first step in making sure our high school students are prepared and ready for employment,” said Robbie Seybert, chairman of the LHRMA Workforce Readiness Committee and director of employee relations and personnel at LPS.

He noted that the 1st Job-Lincoln program pulls from a “broad sweep” of talented young people – from all public and parochial Lincoln high schools, with an emphasis on The Career Academy (TCA) at LPS – and matches them with a variety of generous local businesses and organizations.

One of those talented young people was Noah Costello, a 2018 graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School who attended TCA. Costello had an internship at Don’t Panic Labs, a Lincoln software development firm. He helped develop an app - called MyLNK - that consolidates information from local human services agencies and makes it available for people in crisis who may not always have internet access but do have a mobile phone where the app and its information can be stored.

“My advice to prospective 1st Job-Lincoln interns is to realize you are going to have a good experience regardless of what company you connect with,” Costello said.

A majority of the students who participated in the program this year attend or attended TCA. Dan Hohensee, TCA director, said 1st Job-Lincoln is a win-win for everyone involved.

“The potential to connect TCA programming and networking students is a tremendous opportunity,” he said.

Added Jan Norlander-Jensen, from the the City of Lincoln and the Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Board: “Early identification of the talent pipeline is important to our community. The 1st Job-Lincoln program is an opportunity for IT professionals to create positive summer internships for high school students. This is a great introduction for students to the world of work and to the exciting career opportunities that are available here in Lincoln.”

LPS has been involved with 1st Job-Lincoln since the program’s inception five years ago. This summer, LPS employed two interns, making it one of the program’s “Champion Employers.”

Posted on August 30, 2018

LPS welcome back rally resonates with theme of "every child, every day"

Posted on August 30, 2018

It's back to school for LPS preschool program

Thursday marked the first day of the 2018-19 school year for the Lincoln Public Schools preschool program, which serves more than 1,500 students and their families in 66 classrooms across the city. 

LPS provides a comprehensive, 3.5-hour preschool program in which children: learn through play; make choices; increase social skills; and build confidence. The program provides:

• Opportunities to socialize, solve problems and experience success
• People who care, accept and encourage
• Home visits that focus on the family
• A variety of learning experiences in a safe, caring setting
• Health screenings
• Practice of good habits in eating, teeth brushing, cleanliness and safety
• Partnerships for parents in volunteering, leadership and development
• Help for special needs of children with disabilities
• Assistance in using community resources

For this school year, children who were at least three years old on or before July 31, 2018, and who had not yet turned five as of July 31, 2018, were eligible to apply.

Posted on August 30, 2018

Zoo School a powerful draw for family from Alabama

Herman Sample and his daughter, Maya, moved to Lincoln from Alabama recently. One of the major factors in deciding on the move was so Maya could attend the Lincoln Public Schools Science Focus Program, commonly referred to as Zoo School.

It’s less than a week into the school year, but the Samples already are confident they made the right choice.

“It’s been great,” Maya said.

They’re less confident about experiencing their first Nebraska winter. The average January temperature in Alabama is 54 degrees, compared to 33 degrees in their new home state.

“Everyone keeps warning me about the winters,” Herman said. “We’d have snow days in Alabama but by the afternoon the snow would be melted.”

“We wore shorts on Christmas,” Maya added.

So why the decision, despite the looming chilly temperatures?

In August 2017, the Samples were already leaning toward making the 1,000-mile move from Tuscaloosa when they visited Lincoln to witness the solar eclipse. That’s when they first heard about Zoo School, which is located inside the Lincoln Children’s Zoo and combines hands-on experience with classroom learning. The more they heard, the more they liked - and the more they knew they wanted to move to Lincoln.

Maya, a junior, now attends Lincoln Southwest High School for part of the morning before traveling to Zoo School for the rest of the day. She likes the block scheduling at Southwest and the way teachers collaborate. At Zoo School, she loves being near the animals, especially because she wants to study veterinary medicine in college.

Beyond the classroom, there’s one more LPS experience she really enjoys so far - the transportation that’s offered between Southwest and Zoo School.

“It’s exciting to be on a school bus for the first time in seven years.”

The 20-year-old Zoo School is one example of the many choices that LPS offers students for them to succeed and achieve - 39 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, six comprehensive high schools and a variety of high school alternative programs.

The Zoo School enrolls roughly 100 students from grades nine through 12, both from public and private schools. Students who attend LPS focus programs such as Zoo School remain students at their home schools, where they can participate in activities, athletics and social events.

Posted on August 30, 2018