Inside the Omaha Public Schools

September 2024

Students, staff and families at Northwest High have shown incredible courage and strength through the past two weeks.

Thank you to the students, staff and School Resource Officer who helped immediately as Northwest followed our Standard Response Protocol. We are grateful for law enforcement and first responders who rushed in to help. Thank you again to our Northwest High families for their patience and partnership as reunification proceeded.

Our district reviews procedures regularly. We have, and will continue to, review what happened at Northwest High. We will cooperate fully with any law enforcement investigation.

Young people have shown great resolve in returning to school and continuing to learn. We appreciate the care and hard work of Northwest High staff who make it possible.

Principal Kimberly Jackson, Ed.D., and the Northwest High leadership team have worked non-stop to support our community. Additional resources from across our district were on campus, and support remains available for anyone who needs it. Whether it is contacting school leadership, law enforcement or Safe2Help Nebraska, we appreciate everyone speaking up if something isn’t right.

We take every report seriously and investigate.

Nothing is more important to us than our students and staff. We care so much about each person in our schools.

Matthew Ray

Superintendent

Omaha Public Schools

Investing in Futures

The Impact of ESSER Funding for Omaha Public Schools

Adams Elementary fourth grader Bentley Smoot loves coming to school every day. He doesn’t have a favorite subject because choosing only one is tricky.

“I love school,” said Smoot. “When I get home, I just want to go back to school and learn some more.”

Part of his class instruction includes using an iPad. In 2020, Omaha Public Schools invested in providing over 60,000 internet-connected iPads to students using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The federal government distributed funds to school districts across the nation following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The iPads help us learn a lot,” said Smoot. “It gives us virtual learning time, and it’s like we’re in a different universe or world that’s educational.”

The iPads are one example of how Omaha Public Schools invested ESSER funding over three years. Our district received $304 million in three rounds of ESSER funding that supported over 60 initiatives. Investments include facility updates, teacher and staff retention, a refreshed curriculum and academic recovery.

“Student engagement and student achievement is always at the forefront of what we are looking to improve and capitalize on,” said Meagan Bakhit, Adams Elementary principal. “Investments in health and well-being, like new hydration stations, keep our students thriving inside our buildings,” Bakhit said.

Students also received over 88,000 hours of online and in-person tutoring through ESSER funding since 2022.

With ESSER, Omaha Public Schools introduced Next Level Learning (NLL), our summer school program. NLL addresses academic recovery and improves student outcomes. After first expanding summer opportunities with ESSER funds, Omaha Public Schools continued the work through its annual budget.

Chris Richardson, Prairie Wind Elementary assistant principal, is actively involved in the NLL program each summer. He emphasizes the importance of consistency in helping students retain classroom knowledge.

“Next Level Learning provides students with the chance to keep practicing their skills,” said Richardson. “They’re able to continue growing, and there’s been progress.”

Students also received over 75,000 hours of online and in-person tutoring through ESSER funding since 2022.

“When you think about that reach and the number of kids that we were able to help, it makes a huge difference,” said Richardson. “The point is to be able to teach those independent skills of being able to use other readily available resources when they need them.”

ESSER In Action

Our district identified four key areas for ESSER spending, focused on improving outcomes for our students. Here is an overview of some of the additional items benefitting our students and staff:

Academic Recovery and Acceleration

Early Literacy
Adaptive Learning Tools
Teacher Development

Student and Staff Well-Being

Mental Wellness
Trauma-Informed Care
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

Infrastructure for the Future

Indoor Air Quality
Roof Replacements
Hydration Stations

Family & Community Engagement

Learning Support and Student Well-Being
Professional Development for Parents, Guardians and Caregivers
After-School Engagement Activities

Although ESSER funding concludes at the end of September, Omaha Public Schools will use general funds to maintain support for the following:

Student devices and classroom technology
Internet connectivity for student devices
Early literacy and summer reading
High dosage tutoring
Staff plan time wages
Rolling staff retention stipends into regular pay scales

Since the funding began, our district has remained committed to quarterly updates on our work. Visit our website to read all ESSER in action articles.

Every Day Counts

Omaha Public Schools Works to Improve Student Attendance

Harrison Elementary third grader Clover McLaughlin dreams of becoming a singer and songwriter. She believes attending school every day will help her achieve that goal.

“Things like writing class and listening to stories will help me,” said McLaughlin. “I like coming to school because I get to see my friends, and I love how my teachers are kind to me.”

September is Attendance Awareness Month, highlighting how regular school attendance benefits student success. Attending school on time every day helps students stay on track for graduation.

Support Daily Attendance

Ensuring students arrive on time and attend school throughout the day is a team effort. Here are some tips to support daily attendance:

Student Responsibilities

Follow bedtime and morning routines.
Arrive on time and attend the entire day.
Communicate with teachers.

Family Responsibilities

Set bedtime and morning routines.
Ensure your student(s) arrive at school on time and attend the entire day.
Encourage and monitor attendance.
Schedule appointments after school or on non-school days.

School Responsibilities

Create a positive classroom culture of why attendance matters.
Set and monitor attendance goals with students and families.
Partner with school staff and families to address attendance concerns.

“Attendance is essential because it touches the academic and personal success of every child,” said Kami Piechota, Omaha Public Schools attendance and school support liaison supervisor. “When students attend, they feel connected and a sense of belonging to their school.”

Omaha Public Schools has attendance teams at every school. They work closely with students, families and school administrators to tackle attendance challenges and ensure that students get the support they need to be at school every day. Karen Spurgeon is an attendance liaison. She helps bridge the gap between schools and families.

“We work with social workers and counselors, meet with families and go on home visits,” said Spurgeon. “We’re here to help families.”

Omaha Public Schools recently enhanced the attendance support available to students and families through federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. Our district invested in professional development for staff and resources that allow for more home visits to help families reduce barriers to attendance. The funding also strengthened mental health services.

“Having someone in the building who can touch base with students and have conversations with them, who makes them feel valued and gives them a sense of belonging, will make them want to come to school,” Spurgeon said.

Students attending school regularly are more likely to be on or above grade level academically. For families concerned about attendance or needing support, Piechota advises contacting your child’s school first.

“We want to be able to have conversations around attendance so that we can define the barrier and then align resources to that barrier to attendance,” said Piechota.

Visit the Omaha Public Schools website for attendance information and resources.

District News

Reminder: Late Start for Improvement Day on Sept. 24

Omaha Public Schools 2024-25 school year includes four Improvement Days. The first takes place Sept. 24.

Each Improvement Day is a two-hour late start for students. This allows teachers to collaborate and maximize each minute with students in the classroom.

The remaining Improvement Days are:

Oct. 29, 2024
Jan. 28, 2025
April 1, 2025

View this year’s calendar, including school hours, at ops.org/calendar.

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:

33rd Annual Fort Omaha Intertribal Powwow
Ivy League Youth Sports Academy
Girls Soccer Clinic

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

Superintendent Matthew Ray extends congratulations to...

… to Jason Susnjar, Bryan High’s boys wrestling coach, for being the 2024 Nebraska USA Wrestling Class A Coach of the Year.

… to Tina Forte, Omaha Public Schools director of Title 1 services, for receiving an African American Leadership Award.

… to Central High for achieving the Guinness World Record for Largest Water Balloon Toss – Single Venue.

… to Bancroft Elementary for logging the most minutes in our Summer Reading Challenge.

… to Brent Larson of Central High for winning of the University of Omaha’s Dual Enrollment Recognition of Excellence Award.

… to Melissa Kuskie of Central High for being recognized as the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Outstanding Dual Enrollment Instructor.

… to all Omaha Public Schools students who qualified as semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Hugh Lowe-Weyand, Central High
Mary McGill, Central High
Audra Morrison, North High
Ellis Yamamoto, North High
Jay Peters, South High

… to Jaelyn Taylor, Sania Child and Sarah Folly of Northwest High and Alejandra Wells of Burke High for being recognized as 20 Under 20 Nebraska Award recipients.

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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.