Nebraska Public School Advantage News

Nebraska Public School Advantage News

By Tyler Dahlgren Another Tuesday is winding down at Crete Elementary. The clocks on the wall are inching towards three and there's a buzz rising in classrooms throughout the building. These kids are excited, and (plot twist!) not for the ringing of the day’s final bell. At 3 p.m., the school secretary makes her weekly reminder over the intercom. “Don’t forget, tonight is Tucked in Tuesdays.”...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren As efforts to thrust awareness of mental health out of the darkness and into the light continue to surge across the state, events like ESU 1’s Northeast Nebraska Parent Information Night, or P.I.E., will continue to carry more and more weight. On Tuesday night, families of students from Knox County (and beyond) gathered in the gymnasium of Creighton Community Schools for the...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Matthew Mills wants to change lives someday. He wants to engineer prosthetics and, as the treasurer of King Science & Technology Magnet’s Future Health Professionals (HOSA) chapter, he’s well on his way. And, actually, because of his school’s Health Career Academy (HCA), Matthew is even a pace (or two, or three) ahead of schedule. “Originally, I just knew I wanted to be an...Read More
"What would we do without our ESUs?!" NCSA Ambassador Dr. Cinde Wendell, herself a retired school superintendent, posed the question on Twitter after taking in the EDventurous Regional Professional Learning Community (PLC) day-long event in Hershey on October 14, the second of three sessions offered by ESU 16 throughout the school year. Professional learning, especially for educators,...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Just outside of St. Paul Elementary’s “Recovery Room”, on a billboard used for announcements encased in glass, there’s a message on display for all the school's students to see. “Mental health is something I’m very passionate about, and I would say our high school principal is also passionate about the mental well-being of our students,” said Elementary Principal Sara Paider. “...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren For Paul Kraus and Scott Walls, a pair of licensed mental health professionals (LMHPs) stationed at ESU 6 Headquarters in Milford with more than 20 years experience each, no day is ever remotely like the one before. Before we get to their story, it’s important to note that “stationed” is a term used loosely when it comes to Walls and Kraus. They’re rarely, if ever, stationary,...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren The conversation took place in 2015 between Paul Utemark and Mark Norvell. Utemark, Fillmore County Hospital’s Administrator, and Norvell, Superintendent of Fillmore Central Public Schools, worked, literally, across the street from one another. In a small town like Geneva, everybody, from the school to the hospital, is invested in the well-being of area youth. And there was a...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren “You swipe past it, but does that swipe the feeling away?” In the second episode of The Mind Inside, the filmmakers from I Love Public Schools take viewers on an eye-opening trip down the digital highway present-day students travel along every day. The 30-minute episode examines the inescapable pressures that come with living in a digital world, where an image is created,...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Renowned motivational speaker Dr. Joe Sanfelippo stood on the stage in Holdrege's The Tassel, a state-of-the-art theatre, and delivered an inspirational message that, by the time it was over, left the 600 Nebraska educators in attendance buzzing with excitement for a day full of professional development. Sanfelippo, Superintendent of the Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin,...Read More
By Tyler Dahlgren Prior to beginning her current role with ESU 6 as Director of Student Services, Mary Phillips spent 25 years at Lincoln Public Schools as a special education teacher, building coordinator, and, most recently, district supervisor. Phillips and the team at ESU 6 provide a wide array of mental health services to their 16 school districts, which span a five county-wide area, and...Read More

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