Inside the Omaha Public Schools

March 2024

I am excited for our work together.

For our family and community readers, this edition of Inside OPS is our first chance to connect since the conclusion of our Board of Education’s Superintendent Search.

It is an honor to continue serving our community. Thank you to our Board of Education for their trust and support.

We know the work ahead of us.

We are adopting new curriculum, aligning the systems we use to improve and focusing how we invest our resources. Through it all, we work to retain our dedicated staff and recruit top talent.

The students we serve are so important.

Thank you for being part of Omaha Public Schools.

Matthew Ray

Interim Superintendent

Omaha Public Schools

We Value Your Voice

Share feedback through the Climate/Culture portion of our Parent Voice survey

We care deeply about our students and families. Your feedback makes us better and stronger.

Please take a moment to complete the Culture/Climate portion of the Parent Voice survey. Students from grades 5-12 will receive the survey, too.

Your responses are completely anonymous, and we use them at each school across our district to focus on improvement.

Thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

Students Express Creativity and Achieve Excellence through Art

Shades of green, orange and brown swirled as Jessie Boesiger glazed her ceramic cup before placing it in the kiln.

“It’s called the Creepy Cup,” said Boesiger, a junior at Westview High. “Everything I do always has a creepy twist to it, and I thought it would be really cool if I had a mug carved like a pumpkin.”

Boesiger’s design earned statewide recognition in this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She is among more than 550 high school students in Nebraska to earn awards for their submissions in the annual contest. Students submitted artwork in 16 categories, including sculpture, photography, painting, hand drawing, film and animation and complete portfolios. All entries are considered for Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention.

“It’s a way for students to communicate and express themselves. They put a lot of personal stories and thoughts into their work,” said Angela Fischer, Omaha Public Schools art teaching and learning consultant. “It’s also an opportunity for teachers to showcase what they’re doing in the classroom.”

Boesiger fell in love with art at a young age. She began by sculpting different faces from clay for her stuffed animals at home and sewing new outfits and accessories to make them more expressive and unique. Now at 16, Boesiger is a Silver Key holder.

“My art is unique to me, and I felt like I needed to share it with other people so they can know who I am,” said Boesiger, who likens the art awards to athletic competitions. “Westview has allowed me to be amazingly creative and show the school I have what it takes.”

At Central High, senior Seanelle Clark received a Gold Key and a Silver Key for two ceramic pieces. She says it’s important that students are offered different opportunities to express their creativity.

“Students need to be heard, and not everyone can do that through words,” said Clark. “This gives the students a chance to express themselves, a space where they feel unrestricted, something where they feel like they are wanted.”

The winning pieces are displayed at Omaha Public Schools Teacher Administrative Center through March, alongside art from students throughout Nebraska. Visit our district’s social media pages to view some of this year’s entries.

Summer Musical Auditions Coming Soon

Get ready to unleash your inner ogre and dive into a swamp of excitement. Omaha Public Schools is proud to announce the 2024 summer musical - "Shrek the Musical!"

All aspiring actors and actresses in grades 6-12 are welcome to audition for the cast on Saturday, April 27, at Buena Vista High or Burke High. Students in grades 9-12 can apply for the pit orchestra and crew positions.

For more information about performance dates and tryouts, visit our website.

Supporting Student-Centered Teaching and Learning in Omaha Public Schools

Isabelle True was learning about Rome in social studies when a team of Omaha Public Schools educators visited her classroom at Lewis & Clark Middle.

“They walked around the classroom and observed and talked to the teachers and students,” said True, a sixth grader.

What True didn’t know was that the group was also there to learn.

“It’s cool because students aren’t the only ones learning,” said True.

The group included principals, assistant principals, program directors, instructional facilitators and others. They were at Lewis & Clark Middle as part of a three-day coaching workshop.

“As instructional leaders, we’re there to support them and to give them the resources and tools they need,” said Melissa Prante, Omaha Public Schools coordinator of early childhood education.

Coaching workshops bring together experienced educators – a team focused on continuous improvement in our schools. Coaches mentor teachers, offering ways to be even more effective and grow student achievement.

“The work of improvement happens every day, in every classroom,” said Susanne Cramer, Omaha Public Schools chief improvement officer. “Coming together around instruction not only improves what students experience in the classroom but also improves culture and relationships in a school.”

Another resource supporting that work in our district is the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool or eleot. Staff shared how eleot works during a Board of Education workshop in January. The tool tracks student engagement in the classroom. It evaluates things like student participation in discussions, how engaged they are in activities and how they collaborate with their peers.

“This is a K-12 tool that allows us to look at what a student is doing, saying and learning,” Cramer added.

Instructional coaching and eleot represent some of the tools we use to improve in Omaha Public Schools. Students also participate in statewide assessments measuring academic growth in reading, mathematics and science.

“Those are all sort of multiple measures that tell the story of how our improvement journey is going,” said Cramer. “We're always supporting our schools and leaders to have the tools that they need to grow.”

District News

Board of Education Approves New Transportation Vendor

The Omaha Public Schools Board of Education approved the bid for a new transportation vendor, Zum Services, Inc.

Our district reviewed proposals from different companies before recommending Zum Services, Inc. Once a contract is finalized, Zum Services, Inc. will replace our current transportation vendor at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Our district is committed to ongoing communication and will continue to update families throughout the transition.

Spring Conferences Underway at Omaha Public Schools

Spring conferences have begun across our school district and will take place throughout March.

Conferences are a chance for families to talk with school staff, partner and be more involved in their students’ academic lives.

View conference dates on our District Calendar. We value open communication with the families we serve. If you cannot attend during the times available, please contact your student’s school.

Paper Tutoring Available for All Students

Finish the school year strong! Remember, students can access online tutoring with Paper.

Resources:

1:1 live chat tutoring sessions with experts
Support in 200 subjects
Available in English, Spanish, French and Mandarin
Expert review of written work (essays, creative writing, poetry, lab reports)
Hundreds of activities for families to support students at home
Interactive shows to expand learning beyond the classroom

Students can access online tutoring seven days a week until 11 p.m. through the Clever dashboard on their iPad.

Services are at no cost to students and families. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school.

Student Wrestlers Become State Champions

In February, students from Omaha Public Schools and the state of Nebraska gathered for the NSAA State Wrestling Championships.

Four Omaha Public Schools students earned first place in their weight category, including the first-ever girl for our district.

Ann Marie Meiman, North High
Tyson Terry, North High
Abdirahman Unle, Bryan High
Kevin Boston, Central High

Omaha Public Schools congratulates all our student-athletes who participated in the wrestling championships.

Our Community Opportunities section is our digital bulletin board where families can find information about upcoming events and activities available in our area. New flyers are posted at the beginning of each month. This month's flyers include:

Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska
Habitat for Humanity of Omaha
Ralston Girls Softball Association

Omaha Public Schools provides this opportunity for outside organizations for the benefit of our families. It does not endorse any business, product or service.

Our district extends congratulations to...

… to Buena Vista High tenth grader Salem Wedel for qualifying for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions speech competition.

… to Central High junior Isabelle Smolsky for being recognized as a Nebraska Young Artist Award winner by the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

… to Ava Manhart of Central High for winning the Outstanding Youth Visuals Artists category at the Omaha Entertainment & Art Awards.

…to Central High Girls and Boys Basketball and North High Boys Basketball on qualifying for the NSAA State Basketball Tournament.

… to all Omaha Public Schools athletic teams being recognized as Nebraska Coaches Association Teams of Academic Excellence for the Fall of 2023.

… to all Omaha Public Schools students who competed at the Nebraska School Activities Association Swimming and Diving Championships.

… to the Central High Students for becoming National Merit Finalists.

Lucy Rawlinson
Lachlan O'Keefe
Brayden Simpson

Your Opinion Matters

We love feedback on how well this newsletter is meeting your needs. Please take a few moments to complete this brief survey. It is our goal that the newsletter provides content and information that is important to you.

Thank you!

Omaha Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), marital status, sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation or economic status in its programs, activities and employment and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individual has been designated to accept allegations regarding non-discrimination policies: Superintendent of Schools, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531) 299-9822. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director for the Office of Equity and Diversity, 3215 Cuming St, Omaha, NE 68131 (531) 299-0307.