Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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Either it’s irony or a divine sign that SPS English instructor Katie Schneider shared a blog post on social media last week about the teacher shortage. I’ve been gathering data on the topic for nearly a month, hoping to pull a story together. I’m sharing Schneider’s post with her permission, on this page, under the op-ed label. Schneider addresses parents in her open letter, talking about respect or the lack thereof, about technology and its effects on a child’s brain and behavior, about letting...
Do you want to know why there’s a teacher shortage? Why, this year, in Nebraska alone, there are approximately 1,000 open positions in education, why the number of post-secondary education majors is plummeting? I think any teacher, para, bus driver, administrator, lunch lady or secretary would give you the same answer: A lack of parenting. We have so many students in our school systems who come from broken homes, from absentee parents, from hostile environments, from neglect, and on the opposite side of that coin, from coddling, from ...
As summer ends, I want to acknowledge the start of the 2023-24 school year. Although I've been retired for five years, I have not forgotten the feelings of anticipation mixed with a few butterflies in the stomach wondering what the school year will hold. What an opportunity school employees have to make a difference in not only the present lives of our children but their future as well. Don't underestimate your influence, and thank you, in advance, for all you are going to do. Yours is a noble...
The Legislature gave second-round approval to the budget bills this past week. This effort will allow the budget to be read on Final Reading next week, meeting the requirement to have it pass by the 80th legislative day. The budget would provide money for capital construction projects such as the Perkins County Canal Project and a new prison facility. Additional funds are appropriated to cover salary increases recently negotiated with the state employee’s union and for staff at correctional f...
This month’s State Board of Education meeting convened March 2 and 3 at the Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. During Friday’s public meeting, Wakefield Community School, of District 6, was recognized for being one of two Nebraska schools, among 55 across the United States, named 2022 National Elementary Secondary Education Act Distinguished Schools. Crete Public Schools was the other Nebraska school. Wakefield Community School was recognized for exceptional student performance and aca...
Greater Nebraska's future healthcare workers are already here, but they may not know it yet. In the last three years, Nebraska Community Foundation surveyed more than 3,200 middle and high school students across the state on what they want their future communities and careers to look like. In 2022 alone, more than 700 students responded to the survey. Students consistently rank medical or healthcare professions as their most desired career among multiple options. The most recent survey, however,...