Nebraska Public School Advantage News

Nebraska Public School Advantage News

By Tyler Dahlgren Cesar Ramirez doesn’t let working in a soap factory keep his hands from getting dirty. They might always smell good, one of several perks of working at Pacha Soap Co. for a trio of ESU 9’s 18+ Program students who spend their mornings at the company’s fulfillment facility in downtown Hastings, but they’re not unaccustomed to the dusty residue of a solid day on the job. “Getting...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren The bright flame from Jessica Jackman’s chemistry experiment always draws excited gasps and wide eyes, but perhaps the loudest Oohs and Aahs on this Monday morning in February came from the back of the room, where a pack of fellow Cross County teachers stood and observed. It’s a mini-culture shock for a kindergarten teacher to find themselves in a high school science lab, but...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Downtime is a rare commodity in the course of Qua’Niquia Damper’s typical day. The 2016 Omaha North graduate is a medical assistant in the Hematology-Oncology Department at Children’s Hospital, where she puts in a full eight hours before heading to Maple Crest Health Center for another shift. Damper is a talented hair stylist, too, and books appointments on the side. Damper, you...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Nazeer Rahy tends to hit the ground running. When his family came to America from Afghanistan through the Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) in 2014 (his father worked with the U.S. military for years prior), it didn't take as long you'd think for the then-12-year-old to acclimate to new surroundings. For example, though his favorite sport is and always will be soccer, Nazeer took...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Marquita Lambert remembers the first time she met Billiana Mekoum. It was last school year, Lambert’s first as an Avenue Scholars career coach at Millard South, and Mekoum, a junior at the time, was quiet. Shy, even. Her potential, however, was quite pronounced. “I saw that Billiana had the drive,” said Lambert, herself an owner of multiple businesses. “She wanted to make a...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren It’s a Tuesday morning in the corner pocket of Nebraska when Sven Rauch walks through the Dundy County Stratton office doors, introduces himself and reaches for a handshake. The eighth-grader’s Helena Acres hat is ever-so-slightly cocked to the side, his maroon t-shirt tucked in tight to a pair of blue jeans. Sven’s belt buckle shines a polished gold and, as the owner of a...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Chapter 1: Setting the Stage After a decades-long run of One-Act brilliance, the trophy case walls at Wausa and Hartington-Newcastle are starting to close in. In early December, “Wausmond” (the school started a play production co-op with nearby Osmond four years ago) brought home the C-1 title from the State Play Production Championships in Norfolk, its 13th in the last 16 years...Read More
​ By Tyler Dahlgren Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties exists to create opportunities for metro children and their families, and CEO Dr. Brad Ekwerekwu refers to the organization’s approach to doing so as holistic. With on-site programming at their North Omaha and South Omaha centers, a steady, collaborative presence in several elementary schools and an innovate Parent University...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Three times each year, Nebraska’s 19 Educational Service Units (ESUs) gather under the same roof for a day of invaluable professional development, addressing a rotating assemblage of issues in education. ESUCC has seven subgroups that select those focuses based on data gathered and input from districts across Nebraska, ensuring relevance at each ESUPDO event. On Jan. 12 at ESU...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren This all started with lunch. The year was 2008. Dr. Ken Bird had just retired after 16 years serving as superintendent of Westside Community Schools, the same district in which he got his start as a special education teacher in the fall of 1970. After 38 years in education, you’d have thought Bird would be in for a rest. Then the phone rang. It was Walter Scott, an iconic Omaha...Read More

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