Summary of October 28, 2015 Meeting

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Introduction

LPS Superintendent Steve Joel started the meeting with an explanation of the goals and mission of the Teacher Advisory Council.

“We spend a lot of time at LPS thinking about the future, working with data… considering how we need to budget our priorities…When I started here as superintendent I wanted to recognize a voice that is so critical to the work we are doing – the work in classroom – and one voice I wasn’t hearing was from teachers. You are the ones doing the miracle work.

“So this is my group. I want to hear what you are hearing. When you go back to your buildings, ask about possible issues, discussion points, topics, let us know and we’d be happy to prepare for that. We would like you to be the conduit between us and your buildings.”

Charter Schools

John Neal, assistant to the superintendent for governmental relations and administration

“We have to be on our guard to stand up for public education,” Joel explained, introducing a presentation about charter schools. “I believe it will be tougher for charter schools to get into Nebraska…but let’s educate ourselves and have the conversation and be prepared.”

John Neal, assistant to the superintendent for governmental relations and administration, started with a definition of charter schools: “A charter school is when a governmental subdivision gives a non-governmental entity the right to run a public school.”

He said there is a wide range of charter schools in this country – from what he called “the wild wild west of Arizona, where anyone can open a charter,” to Indiana where charter schools must meet accountability and certification guidelines and are heavily regulated by the state.

Neal walked the Council through the benefits of public schools, which include information about how public schools are more effective, accountable, efficient and more (attachment 1, attachment 2).

He also provided links to three articles in the wake of the changes in Nevada that provide a nice contrast in perspectives:

Technology Update:

Jane Stavem, associate superintendent for Instruction
Kirk Langer, chief technology officer, Computing Services

Joel: “Education is one of the few professions that has almost been frozen in time. Classrooms still look the same…But that is changing now.”

Joel said the advent of new instructional technology represents what could be considered “second order change. We are taking the classrooms of the past and converting them into 21st century classrooms where kids solve, innovate, create.”

Jane Stavem, associate superintendent for Instruction, said the conversation is starting to shift from the logistics of receiving computers and Chromebooks – to: “Now they we have them, what will we do with these tools for innovative thinking? This is bigger more important thinking. What are the coolest things we can do with these gadgets?”

Stavem said in recent visits to other school districts she has become even more excited about the potential of what teachers can do with technology, using a few examples from those districts:

  • An elementary school teacher who asked her students to design a more efficient and innovative method of bobbing for apples (avoiding germs and dampness), then creating an online presentation on their experiments, and doing a presentation on their process.
  • A high school teacher who asked students to make improvements on everyday objects (resulting in one award-winning student who created a more stable walker for elderly).

Kirk Langer, chief technology officer for Computing Services, continued: “There is no magic in the machine, the magic is in the fact that technology allows students to look at things differently than before.”

He said the recent 2014 bond issue funded much of the infrastructure necessary to make the use of Chromebooks possible and effective, and explained the Lincoln Board of Education’s process and approval – stressing that the Board underlined technology “must always be in support of student learning.”

Langer reviewed the three-year plan for implementation – and the change in the original timeline that will now provide all students in grades 3-5 with a Chromebook in the next 6-8 weeks.

(View the Slides)

Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Update

Joel underlined the important goal of achieving a graduation rate of 90 percent at LPS – and how that will involve additional issues such as:

  • Students with serious mental health issues
  • Students who are incarcerated
  • English Language Learner students who are immigrants and refugees
  • Developing additional partnerships with community organizations to provide necessary services

He asked Teacher Advisory Council members what needs to happen to reach the goal of 90 percent graduate rate. A few answers:

  • “We need to partner with community resources to provide more support for our students with mental health issues.”
  • “We need more time…. Yes, schools have been changing and we’re doing more and more, implementing more, and taking on more…. But our start and end time has not changed.”
  • “From the passion of my heart, I believe all kids need preschool. I believe that would make a difference in the graduation rate.”
  • “We need better staff development, particularly for handling ELL students and students with poverty levels.”
  • “We need to have less focus on testing…. There is such test anxiety among our students today.”

Joel stressed: “Please, take this message back to your schools, we are not going to look at any kind of single school rating and judge your school. We do not believe a test or rating is any complete definition of your school. I hate labels…..However, you need to know, we are not going to win that battle right now. We are going to continue testing kids as a fact of life….until something changes on the federal level.”

He also asked for help from LPS employees, encouraging students and families to consider The Career Academy, and most especially one of the teaching career pathways.

“We are planning to grow 150 more Career Academy students next year…and we are looking for more diversity in our student population. We want to have teachers who resemble the diversity of our own student body, but we have become convinced that we will need to grow our own.”

Updated November 2, 2015