Nov. 15, 2022

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

The #OPSProud Spotlight recognized Tommy Vasquez (Burke High) and Aaliyah Farmer (North High), who were recently named Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) Believers and Achievers for 2022-23. According to the NSAA, "Believers & Achievers was designed to reward high school students in Nebraska for their excellence in academics and participation in NSAA activities."

Academic Support and Tutoring

As part of our district's commitment to support students with unfinished learning, our Board approved expanded Academic Tutoring and Support options for students last night. Students and families can now receive academic support in three ways: from school staff (school based in-person), through partnerships with our community partners (community based in-person) and online on-demand services.

School based tutoring began in October. Staff have worked with families to identify students who may benefit from the additional support. Families interested in this service should reach out to their child's teacher.

District partners Omaha Public Schools Foundation Kids Club and Collective for Youth will provide community-based services. Students enrolled in those programs may participate. Omaha Public Schools will provide training, support and materials for community based tutoring staff. These services will tentatively begin in December and expand as more tutors are available.

Our staff will immediately begin working to implement the online on-demand tutoring services provided by Paper. Our goal is to roll out via soft launch in the coming weeks. The official launch will be Jan. 2023. Once rolled out, students in grades 3-12 can connect to a tutor via a chat-based interface. Our students can access the service through Clever integration seven days a week until 10 p.m.

The items the Board approved related to Academic Support and Tutoring are:

• Approval to Award of Request for Proposal P010-23 to­­­­ Paper Education America, Inc. for On-Line Tutoring & Practice Services for K–12th Grade ($928,225.00)
• Approval of Agreement with Collective for Youth for Tutoring Services
• Approval of Agreement with Omaha Public Schools Foundation Kids Club (“OPSF Kids Club”) for Tutoring Services

Approval of Resolution 22-006 Appointing Shane Rhian to Serve as Administrator of the Omaha School Employees Retirement System (OSERS)

Shane Rhian was approved as the administrator of Omaha School Employees Retirement System (OSERS). He will serve as Chief Financial Officer and OSERS administrator until the transfer of day-to-day management of OSERS is transferred to the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Board, or PERB, in 2024. Shane is taking over for Cecilia Carter, who recently retired. 

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

Board of Education members approved the first reading of the proposed updates to the following district policies:

5408 - Health Screening

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 second reading.

Next Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Board Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 28, 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.