Oct. 18, 2022

Following each Board of Education meeting, the Office of District Communications recaps the board meeting in the Board Digest.

Curriculum and Instruction Support staff provided an update on Omaha Public Schools efforts to prepare students to be competent, responsible, patriotic and civil citizens, aligned with Revised State Statutes 79-724 and 79-727.

District staff reviewed the social studies textbook adoption and field-testing process that is currently taking place for elementary and secondary social studies. Omaha Public Schools last elementary social studies textbook adoption occurred in 2004. The last secondary textbook adoption occurred in 2015. Selected teachers are field testing new materials across grade levels throughout our district.

Community reviews of new materials will occur in November and December. An advisory committee and district Research staff will provide input through winter 2022-23. A recommendation for new materials could come before the Board of Education in spring 2023.

The #OPSProud Spotlight recognized Mariana Cruz, assistant principal at Forest Station Elementary. The Metro Young Latino Professionals named Cruz Educator of the Year.

Approval of Fourth Amendment to Contract for Bus Transportation with Student Transportation of America for the 2022-23 School Year ($1,200,000.00)

Through the approved updated agreement:

• Omaha Public Schools will increase route payments to Student Transportation of America (STA), allowing the contracted partner to raise driver salaries. 
• STA will invest in expanded customer service support for families, reflecting the value Omaha Public Schools places on open communication. 
• Rates for liquidated damages grow, should the contracted partner not meet negotiated expectations.  

Update to Policies 5408, 5419, 5420, 5424, 5426, 5501 and 5504

Board of Education members received proposed updates to the following district policies:

5408 - Health Screening (Updated version to be posted for first reading).

5419 - Student Privacy Protection

5420 - Dating Violence

5424 - Elementary School Uniforms

5426 - Student Data

5501 - Bus Transportation

5504 - Special Education Transportation

Policy updates will come before the Board at future meetings for first and second readings.

Early Literacy Update

Staff discussed Strategic Plan of Action (SPOA)-aligned literacy work with our youngest students. 84.1% of schools are currently meeting the SPOA goal, “Annually, each school will have 4% more Kindergarten through third grade students that will read on grade level as measured on standardized district assessments.”

Work already accomplished includes the adoption and implementation of new teaching materials aligned to state education standards. Students benefit from additional, focused resources to achieve grade-level targets. Omaha Public Schools is partnering with the Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) to design strategy that improves experiences for all children to read at grade level by age eight.

View the full presentation here.

Next Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Board Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 7, 2022. It is tentatively scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Board of Education Agenda

To review previous Board of Education agendas, click here. If you have trouble accessing direct links, please access the entire Board of Education Agenda to view presentations and other documents.

How Can I Watch a Previous Board of Education Meeting?

The video from the meeting will be available by Wednesday at noon following the meeting. The video can be viewed by clicking here.