LSB – Standing Bear High School

LOCATION: Near 70th Street and Saltillo Road

IN OPERATION: 2023 – Present

Standing Bear High School, located in southeast Lincoln near 70th and Saltillo Road, is Lincoln Public Schools’ eighth high school.

Sue Cassata was named Principal for the opening of Lincoln’s newest comprehensive high school facility.

Standing Bear High joins Lincoln High as the city’s only public high schools with names that are not based on a direction and is the first to be named for a person. A committee of community members and Board members recommended that the new school be named Standing Bear High School to honor the life of  Standing Bear (1829-1908), who was a chief of the Ponca Tribe. Steve Laravie Jr., a great-great-great-great-grandson of Standing Bear told the LPS Board of Education “This consideration of his name for an environment where young people can learn and grow to be great leaders for their own communities, for their own families, for this good land – for all of us – I thank you on behalf of my family,” he said.

Standing Bear’s mascot is the Grizzlies, and school’s colors are Charcoal, Carolina Blue and Navy. The mascot logo pays homage to Chief Standing Bear’s son Bear Shield, a decision made in collaboration with the Ponca Tribe, several community indigenous leaders including descendants of Chief Standing Bear.

Standing Bear High School opened with only ninth and tenth graders in 2023. LPS planned this facility to open with room for 1,000 students, but prepares for growth and expansion to 2,000 students as student enrollment in Lincoln grows.

Juniors and seniors may choose to participate in the Nebraska Business Focus Program, housed at the site.

Standing Bear is a member of the Eastern Midlands Conference (EMC) for athletics, classified as a Class B school under the Nebraska School Activities Association bylaws. The NSAA classifies schools based on enrollment in grades 9-11, and are re-evaluated every two years.