Nebraska Public School Advantage News

Nebraska Public School Advantage News

The Heart of Schuyler: Student entrepreneurs bring local hospital’s gift shop back to life

The Heart of Schuyler: Student entrepreneurs bring local hospital’s gift shop back to life

February 18, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren The small retail space near the head of the lobby of CHI Health Schuyler has sat mostly vacant for a handful of years, its bare shelves collecting not much more than sunlight and dust. To most passersby, the room looked exactly like what it was. Grant Torpin, however, saw more than a vacant hospital gift shop. The Schuyler Central High School business teacher saw an opportunity...Read More

Bring Your Muck Boots: Cross County ag students see an embryo implanted at their own livestock facility

Bring Your Muck Boots: Cross County ag students see an embryo implanted at their own livestock facility

February 13, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren On the north edge of Stromsburg, just beyond the hum of classrooms and busy hallways, six cattle roam a pen and try their best to ignore the Cross County students sent to corral them. Inside the nearby shop, it’s all the usual hustle and bustle. One of the top agriculture programs in the state, they move fast in here. Superintendent Brent Hollinger points to the spot where a...Read More

Prime Time for a Winter Recharge: ESU 4’s Engaging Educators draws hundreds to Nebraska City

Prime Time for a Winter Recharge: ESU 4’s Engaging Educators draws hundreds to Nebraska City

February 9, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren The parking lot of Nebraska City High School was full and droves of educators, nearly 700 in total, flocked to ESU 4’s Engaging Educators Conference last Monday. They came from all directions, hoofing it down Central Ave before climbing a set of steps and entering the school, where they were met with an undeniable buzz. This conference, which NPSA has featured and presented at...Read More

Karsyn and her Classroom: Beloved Aurora third-grader is right where she belongs

Karsyn and her Classroom: Beloved Aurora third-grader is right where she belongs

February 4, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren It’s an ordinary Tuesday in Ashley Peterson’s classroom at Aurora Elementary, and her third-graders are laser focused on the morning’s lesson. Little Karsyn Soto sits behind a corner desk and learns alongside her friends. Fifteen minutes of observation is all it takes to see that Karsyn is right where she belongs. The other kids in the classroom are drawn to Karsyn’s corner like...Read More

The Handprints on Arnold: How one school in The Sandhills has redefined "student-run"

The Handprints on Arnold: How one school in The Sandhills has redefined "student-run"

January 29, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren You’d be amazed at all the handprints Arnold students have left on their hometown and even some surrounding counties through the years. Here in this Custer County village of 600, students don’t just study business, art and science. They run a graphic design firm, manage a commercial-grade greenhouse, and manufacture products that are installed on street corners, county roads and...Read More

The Many, Many Pathways to Mullen

The Many, Many Pathways to Mullen

January 2, 2026
By Tyler Dahlgren Mullen is small yet mighty. A town of 500 people smack dab in the middle of the Sandhills, it’s known for friendly people, world-class golf courses, and their beloved Mullen Broncos. In this isolated but breathtaking landscape, the school serves as the cornerstone of the community. But behind the school’s tradition of academic, athletic and extracurricular success lives a unique...Read More

The Elf Society: Fifteen Years of Quiet Magic at Centennial

The Elf Society: Fifteen Years of Quiet Magic at Centennial

December 22, 2025
By Tyler Dahlgren Kathy Calder does not think of herself as an elf. Not in the traditional, jolly and jovial sense, anyway. She is more likely to describe herself as a straight-shooter, a tough cookie if you will. By Calder’s own admission, her personality aligns more with the Grinch’s than it does with Buddy the Elf’s. “I can be a hard case,” Calder said. “I have rules and expectations for my...Read More

The Bridge Between Heartbreak and Hope: York Public Schools receives incredible gift in honor of former student

The Bridge Between Heartbreak and Hope: York Public Schools receives incredible gift in honor of former student

December 18, 2025
By Tyler Dahlgren Part I: JJ's Legacy Nearly 11 years have passed since Randy and Jules Vanderheiden lost their son, though time doesn’t dull an absence like JJ’s. His memory lives in quiet moments, in familiar places, and in the stories shared by those who knew and loved him. JJ was a senior when he passed away in January of 2015. He was a three-sport athlete, a good student who instinctively...Read More

Popcorn, Pajamas and Plenty of Cheer: Buffalo Hills Elementary goes big to ring in the holiday season

Popcorn, Pajamas and Plenty of Cheer: Buffalo Hills Elementary goes big to ring in the holiday season

December 17, 2025
By Tyler Dahlgren It was Friday morning in downtown Kearney, peaceful and still when a school bus carrying a jovial bunch of students from Buffalo Hills Elementary came rolling to a stop in front of the The World Theatre. It was just before 9:30, the start of the school’s annual holiday celebration, and the pajama-clad students had their sights set on popcorn, soda and Tim Allen’s Christmas...Read More

Wake Up, Sandy Creek! Elementary students start every morning with an episode of Cougar Talk

Wake Up, Sandy Creek! Elementary students start every morning with an episode of Cougar Talk

December 10, 2025
By Tyler Dahlgren For five minutes every morning, students at Sandy Creek Elementary stop what they’re doing and tune in. At 8:15 sharp, classrooms fall quiet and the Clear Touch televisions flicker on. Two fifth-grade anchors, calm and cool and savvy well beyond their years, appear on screen. The show begins. “Good morning, Cougars!” Welcome to Cougar Talk — the daily student-run newscast that’s...Read More

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