September 2025

We often think about doing something new, different or better.

“This is the fall I finally get organized.”

“Next year, I’ll read more books.”

Busy schedules and old habits get in the way. Nothing changes.

How can we make change that lasts?

Across business, healthcare and education, more organizations are turning to “improvement science.”

It helps us:

• Name the exact problem we need to solve.
• Try small changes to improve outcomes.
• Measure if each change made a difference.

Take reading more books as an example. You could set aside 15 minutes each day. After two weeks, measure if it helped. If not, try a new book, or a different genre. Test that as a difference-maker in achieving your goal.

Test a change, measure results, learn and adjust quickly.

Our school district is using improvement science to do better.

It is an approach to the work, and not a new program or initiative. This is how we face and overcome challenges.

In this edition of Inside OPS, you’ll see how we are using improvement science to help students attend school more often. We’re using it for teaching, learning, attendance and more.

Learning quickly how we can improve student outcomes, thoughtfully and with precision. Taking those successes and applying them from one classroom, one school to another.

We know every staff member, student, family, partner and community member is part of our progress.

Improvement is a shared approach to learning and doing better.



Matthew Ray

Superintendent

Omaha Public Schools

Omaha Public Schools Using New Approach to Improve Student Attendance

Zoey Nuno looks forward to being at school every day at Edison Elementary.

"I like my teacher and my friends," the fifth grader said.

Nuno also understands how regular attendance impacts learning.

"If you don't come to school,” she said, “you can miss something really important."

That’s why Omaha Public Schools is implementing a new approach to boost attendance districtwide and combat chronic absenteeism. Our district partnered with the District Management Group (DMG) to incorporate improvement science into our attendance efforts.

"As we look at the data, we know that when students aren't in school, it impacts them behaviorally and academically," said Kami Piechota, Omaha Public Schools supervisor for student and community services.

Attendance teams throughout our district meet weekly with DMG performance coaches to review student data and understand who is missing school and why.

“We have always monitored attendance, and this year our goal is to have everyone in school 90% of the time or more,” said Laura Elworth, Omaha Public Schools school support liaison (SSL).

This allows attendance teams to set goals and quickly test specific, new techniques to reduce attendance barriers. Staff study results and adjust based on what works best for each student. Staff know that every minute matters. 

"Instruction happens all day," said Edison Elementary Principal Mellany Fullenkamp. "If students are late or leaving early or missing 20 minutes of literacy daily, it's hard to stay on grade level."

Fullenkamp emphasizes that establishing trust with families is essential for improving student attendance.

"We want our students to be here and our families to want them to be here," she said. "Providing resources when there are barriers and having honest conversations builds a relationship of trust."

Some schools offer incentives for good attendance to motivate students, and they regularly review data with families, empowering parents to monitor progress. Families can also access attendance resources on our website.

Through these efforts, Omaha Public Schools is working to provide every student with the tools they need to succeed.

"We're being proactive, instead of reactive," said Elworth. "This work narrows our focus and gives us a place to hone in on specific outcomes.”

Learning to “Sound Out” Structured Literacy in the Omaha Public Schools

First grade students gather at the front in Sarah Kasco’s classroom at Minne Lusa Elementary.

“Green grapes grow in the garden,” Kasco says to them.

Her class works on alliteration. They're practicing the ‘guh’ sound as Kasco describes it.

“Remember, alliteration is when you have the same sound at the beginning of a word. Listen to me while I do the first one,” she tells them.

The students quickly repeat the words aloud. Through interactive lessons, they learn to sound out new words.

“We have to sound out the words and blend them so we can learn how to read,” Oryn Nelson, Minne Lusa Elementary first grader. “Because if we didn’t know how to read, then we wouldn’t know how to write letters.”

The Science of Reading emphasizes direct instruction in five essential areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Omaha Public Schools is implementing these principles through structured literacy – lessons designed to build word recognition, phonological awareness, decoding and sight word reading skills.

All kindergarten through second grade teachers across our district use the same structured literacy curriculum. This effort is part of our district’s Moonshot goal of ensuring all students read on grade level by 2030.

In Shanee Samuel’s second grade class at Minne Lusa Elementary, students are working on blending sounds—combining individual sounds to form whole words.

“The foundational skills of structured literacy are great. It’s repetition, systematic, clear and direct,” said Samuel. “Not only are the students engaged the entire time, but they’re doing the work that it takes to be good readers.”

Structured literacy lessons are held at the same time each morning across our district. This ensures that every student in every classroom receives consistent reading instruction every day.

“I love that it’s in the morning because it sets us up for the rest of the day,” said Samuel. “When we’re reading in science or social studies, those reading skills blend throughout the day.”

Last year, Samuel and Kasco were among more than 400 Omaha Public Schools teachers who engaged in Science of Reading training with the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO).

“What’s great about that class is that we have an understanding of how many pieces there are to the Science of Reading,” said Kasco. “Now we’re part of a team that gets to share that with more teachers.”

Reminder: Late Start for Improvement Day on Sept. 23

On Sept. 23, all students will begin two hours late for the first of five Improvement Days this school year.

Staff will use the extra time for data-driven work to improve teaching and learning across our district. This allows teachers to collaborate and maximize each minute with students in the classroom.

The remaining Improvement Days are:

• Oct. 28
• Jan. 27
• Feb. 24
• May 5

Find more information about Omaha Public Schools Improvement Days here.

Graduation Dates Set for Omaha Public Schools Class of 2026

Commencement ceremonies for our comprehensive high schools will take place May 18-22, 2026, at Baxter Arena.

Visit our website for the full schedules and information about our program graduations. 

Celebrating #OPSProud Week

Each September, we take a week to spotlight the staff and students who make Omaha Public Schools a special place to learn and work. #OPSProud Week is our time to showcase the pride and joy in our district.

Throughout the week, we collected photos and videos that capture the Omaha Public Schools spirit in action. #OPSProud!

Superintendent Matthew Ray extends

congratulations to...

… to Micah Ringlein, Central High foreign language teacher, for winning the University of Nebraska Omaha Outstanding Dual Enrollment Instructor Award for the 2024-25 school year.

… to Jordan Boyer, Central High social studies teacher, for receiving the University of Nebraska Omaha Dual Enrollment’s Recognition of Excellence in Teaching Award.

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