By Tyler Dahlgren

We met Tyler Beranek on the second floor of Humphrey High School in late September of last year. The Highway 91 Career Fair had drawn nearly 100 local businesses to the building, and the hallways were shoulder-to-shoulder.

Still, you couldn’t miss Beranek. Donning an almost-luminous pink golf polo, the first-year superintendent at the new Lindsay Academy, located just 10 minutes west down one of Nebraska’s most-famed highways, dished out high-fives while directing students to their next opportunity. To the next open door.

We swapped introductions, and I pulled some quotes from Beranek, who quickly chalked up the vibrant attire to Spirit Week at Lindsay Academy. He told me about the new school under construction down the way, about his students who were taking classes in a shed in the meantime and about the will of a town who didn’t want to say good-bye.

“I don’t know if that would be something you’re interested in,” Beranek said, “but it’s a cool story.”

Nebraska Public School Advantage has been telling our public schools’ stories since 2016. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Our articles often harken back to the love Nebraska communities have for their schools. Along the way, we’ve tried to highlight the many partnerships that exist between public and private parochial schools. There’s so, so many examples of those collaborations across the state.

The Lindsay Academy, Beranek explained, is essentially both a private, and a public, school. It’s really the only of its kind in Nebraska, and the story really is a remarkable testament to the bond between a small town and its small school. Their new building opened last December. Students walked out of the shed and into an amazing new facility that was community-funded. 

They walked right into the future. This is their story.

On the west side of Elm Street just north of Lindsay, a sleek new building gleams against the prairie skyline, a symbol of renewal for a town that refused to fade. Inside, where the Humphrey-Lindsay Bulldogs were nearing a big volleyball match with Elkhorn Valley, students bounced between the student section and the building’s beautiful atrium, where student organizations held bake sales and mingled with community members.

This is Lindsay Academy, a school born from the heart of a community determined to preserve its future.

When the Omaha Archdiocese announced in December 2023 that Lindsay Holy Family High School would close its doors, it could have marked the beginning of decline for this small farming community. Instead, it became the spark for reinvention.

“We already had a community project in the works with the wellness and event center,” said Jenny Korth, one of the founders of Lindsay Area Development (LAD). “When we heard the news, we came together and said, ‘We’re not losing our school.’”

Within months, that event center blueprint was reshaped into something much larger: a new, independent 7–12 high school. Ground was broken in December 2024, and by January 2025, students were moving into their new classrooms. It all happened quickly.

As the junior varsity game wound down, so too did a junior high football game down the road at Bill Mimick Field. Lindsay Academy principal and athletic director (and junior high football coach) Tyler Beranek was down on the sidelines, trying to lead the junior high Bulldogs down the field late in the fourth quarter. Right when the game ended, he was off to catch the varsity volleyball game.

He wasn’t the only one. The whole town seemingly filled the bleachers in the sparkling new gymnasium. This place is special, and so are these opportunities. Not many high school principals also coach junior high football, said Beranek, who came from larger districts in Columbus, Seward, and Norfolk.

For Beranek, whose wife is from Lindsay, the small-town spirit that radiates through this place was immediately evident.

“Everywhere you go, people talk about wanting a family atmosphere,” Beranek said. “Here, it’s not just talk. This really is a family. You’re welcomed with open arms whether you’re in the grocery store or at church.”

That sense of family carried through the entire process of creating Lindsay Academy. Assistant Principal Kylie Hollatz, who came to Lindsay from Leigh Community Schools, said the support from the community has been unlike anything she’d seen. This is their building too, and it’s fun to imagine all the different events, weddings and banquets and parties, that will be held in the space overlooking the gymnasium.

“If we need a piano, someone brings us a piano,” she said with a laugh. “If we ask for help, the community is there.”

Before the new building was ready, classes were held in a machine shed, an unconventional but spirited start that students and staff now remember fondly. 

“The shed was fun,” Hollatz said. “The kids were learning regardless, and that experience showed everyone how committed this community was.”

Now in its first year, Lindsay Academy stands out not only for the unique circumstances under which it began, but for what the school offers. The faith-based school blends traditional academics with local relevance. It has dual-credit college courses, robotics, theology, and even a new landscape design class. An agriculture teacher will join at semester, making Lindsay Academy home to its own independent FFA chapter.

“We’re an ag-driven area,” Beranek said. “We want our kids to be prepared for the future, whether that means running the family farm or going to medical school.”

Small class sizes mean individualized attention, something Hollatz believes gives Lindsay students a unique advantage. 

“Their interests are valued here,” she said. “It feels like they’re being taught independently. We really value their interests”

Lindsay Academy also maintains deep ties with neighboring districts. Partnerships with schools like Humphrey, Newman Grove, and Howells-Dodge extend learning and extracurricular opportunities, from shared speakers to co-op athletics. 

“We compete on the field,” Beranek said, “but we all want our kids to just be as successful as they possibly can. And I don't care if that kid goes to Lindsay, or if they go to Humphrey or Howells-Dodge. We just want to see all the kids reach their full potential.”

From the start, Lindsay Academy’s founders knew they needed a special kind of teacher, devoted educators willing to take risks and wear many hats. 

“We were lucky,” Beranek said. “Some of our staff are Holy Family graduates. Others came from outside. We did have to reach to the Philippines to find our math teacher and our theology teacher, and they've been excellent additions, too. They live in town here and they're at events and they're visible in the public. I've been on the hiring side of things and other districts, and it's definitely not an easy landscape to maneuver these days, but we've been really lucky with having quality people apply.”

Teachers fill multiple roles—teaching PE, art, music, or dual-credit English when needed. Beranek, Hollatz and Korth have all led classroom instruction this year. 

“Nobody bats an eye,” Hollatz said. “That’s what makes it work.”

The success of Lindsay Academy has already rippled beyond the classroom. Korth said the project has spurred new housing and business growth. 

“As soon as the ground started moving, houses were being built,” she said. “We’ve seen two new businesses open, and almost every lot in our subdivision is sold.”

The Lindsay Corporation recently announced a $50 million expansion—an investment Korth believes is tied to the town’s renewed momentum.

“When you put your focus on the kids, everything else follows,” she said. “The school really is the heart of a small town.”

That heart beats strong today, pulsing through the halls of a brand-new building that’s everything the people in Lindsay could have imagined.

“We're starting to see the impact that this is having on the community,” said Korth. “Collectively we kind of made that stance to say, ‘Yep, we're staying, we're not going anywhere.’”