Highlights of the April 9, 2024 Lincoln Board of Education regular meeting

The Lincoln Board of Education met for its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 9, at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street.

First reading

Title VI, Indian Education Program grant

Native American students are enrolled in all Lincoln Public Schools representing about 60 tribes as designated by the parent.

The U.S. Department of Education, through Title VI of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides funds to fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. These funds support LPS efforts in creating and executing educational programs and culturally relevant activities to empower every American Indian student to achieve their highest academic potential.

Lincoln Public Schools has received federal funds for services for Native American students since the mid-1980’s. Grant award amounts vary by year according to the total amount of Indian Education funds available at the federal level and are not based only on the number of students per program.

Estimated funding from Title VI for 2024-25 is approximately $191,755, based on the current student count of 713. Decisions regarding the use of these funds are made in consultation with the Native American Advisory Committee.

Director of Federal Programs Marco Pedroza and Youth Development Team Coordinator Joe Rousseau provided an update on the program to the Board. The Board will hold a second reading on the grant application and vote at the next meeting.

Juvenile Justice Prevention Fund grant

LPS Student Services is asking the Board to consider a grant application to help start a more comprehensive re-entry transition program for youth returning from the Lancaster County Youth Services Center.

The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners annually sets aside prevention funding for services to youth at risk of entering or reentering the juvenile justice system.

Often, youth are released from detention and return back home and school with little to no notice. This can result in the student, family and school being unprepared for this transition. If awarded, LPS would create a school social worker position that would help such students and their families to identify and secure needed supports while including and preparing the school so that all parties are better prepared for a successful and seamless transition.

The LPS Student Support Program will house the new position and serve as the first step for students returning from detention before they transition back to their home school.

The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the grant application at the next meeting.

Strategic Plan with measurable goals

The Board directed the superintendent to bring forward measurable goals by April 2024 for each priority that was outlined in the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan adopted by the Board on February 27, 2024.

As part of its goals for the 2022–2023 school year, the Board agreed to work with consulting firm District Management Group to gather community input and draft the 2024–2029 LPS Strategic Plan. The All Means All Action Plan and the Superintendent’s Transition Plan are the core of the 2024-2029 LPS Strategic Plan and represent the district’s commitment to community input and equitable outcomes.

The following measurable goals were presented to the Board by LPS Superintendent Paul Gausman (all goals with an * asterisk represent goals from the LPS All Means All Action Plan):

Student Wellbeing and Outcomes

Challenging and appropriate instruction with a strong foundation in literacy and diverse pathways to graduation.

By June 2029, raise the LPS district on-time graduation rate to 87.0%, with a focus on reducing existing differentials between student groups.*
By June 2029, LPS will see a 3% increase in percentile rank in both Math and ELA for ALL student groups on nationally normed assessments.
By June 2029, increase district enrollment in honors courses for all students with additional emphasis on historically underrepresented student groups by reducing disproportionality in course enrollment by 50%.*
By June 2029, increase the percentage of early childhood students who meet or exceed age expectations by 5% in each developmental area (social emotional, cognitive, physical, language, literacy, and mathematics) as measured on the nationally normed GOLD assessment.

Note: The GOLD assessment is a comprehensive assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten that blends ongoing, authentic assessment in all areas of development and learning with intentional, focused performance assessment tasks for selected predictors of school readiness in the areas of literacy and numeracy.

Intentional supports and relationships for ALL students focused on positive behavior to build strong and safe school communities.

By June 2029, reduce total suspensions for ALL students by 20%*.
By June 2029, reduce suspension disproportionality ratios to 1.2 or less for all student groups.*
By June 2029, students who report feeling that they have a sense of belonging at school will increase 10% from the baseline measure taken in 2024, and the gaps in positive belonging perception reported by demographic groups will narrow by 5%.

Staff Wellbeing and Outcomes

Support and empowerment for diverse staff who meet the changing needs of ALL students.

By June 2029, increase the percentage of all employee groups from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to at least 8.5% of the total staff.*
By June 2029, increase the retention rate for LPS certified staff positions by 2%.
By June 2029, ensure that the average compensation and benefits of LPS classified staff will be competitive with similar positions based on market analysis.
By June 2029, increase the proportion of staff members who report feeling a sense of belonging by 2%.

Family and Community Engagement

Outreach that welcomes families and community members as partners in supporting the success of ALL students.

By June 2029, parents and families who report having opportunities to be involved in school activities will increase 2%, and the gap in positive perception reported by demographic groups will narrow by 5%.
By June 2029, parents and families who report that staff builds positive relationships will increase 2%, and the gap in positive perception reported by demographic groups will narrow by 5%.
By June 2029, community members who report having opportunities to be involved in school activities or partnerships will increase 10%, and the gap in positive perception reported by demographic groups will narrow by 5%.
By June 2029, community members who report that district staff build positive relationships with them will increase by 10%, and the gap in positive perception reported by demographic groups will narrow by 5%.

District Systems and Operations

District systems that continue to direct resources based on student needs.

By June 2029, review, analyze, and verify that 100% of schools have resources aligned to identified student need, based on available funding.
By June 2029, increase the percentage of staff and families who feel that district systems and operations are transparent.
By June 2029, adopt an updated 10-Year Facilities and Infrastructure Plan and identify available resources for implementation.

Read the draft of the plan with measurable goals here. The Board will hold a second reading on the measurable goals and vote at the next regular meeting.

Elementary and high school classroom projection projects

In 2014 under the direction of the Board, LPS developed and implemented a technology plan called Connected Learning for the Achievement of Students & Staff (CLASS) to address the school district’s technology infrastructure needs. As part of that plan, projection devices were installed in high school classrooms during the 2015-16 school year, and in the elementary classrooms during the 2017-18 school year. Those devices have reached the end of their life cycles and need to be replaced.

Staff recommend the Board approves the lowest bid from GovConnection for the purchase of 1,560 Epson projectors for the total cost of $2,110,258.80.

Due to the short timeline, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the purchase.

Second reading

Fresh milk products

Proposals were requested from interested vendors to provide fresh milk and dairy products for use by LPS Nutrition Services for all locations. The contract prices are for the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. There are four optional one-year renewal periods.

Staff recommended that the Board approve the contract with Kemps Dairy for $1,152,515.

The Board voted to approve the contract.

Fresh bakery products

Proposals were requested from interested vendors to provide fresh bakery products for use by LPS Nutrition Services for all locations. The contract prices are for the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. There are four optional one-year renewal periods.

Staff recommended that the Board approve the contract with Pan-O-Gold Baking Company for $251,368.
The Board voted to approve the contract.

Informational items and reports

Superintendent update

Gausman celebrated many student accomplishments during his update. He congratulated East High School Senior Hannah Tang for being selected to represent Nebraska by the Nebraska Department of Education as part of the United States Senate Youth Program. Gausman also recognized the DECA and HOSA students who placed and state and earned a spot at national competitions.

Gausman also applauded the 350 ninth grade students who voluntarily came to Wesleyan University last Saturday morning and participated in AP exam prep workshops for Human Geography. There will also be an opportunity for AP government and AP U.S. history students in April. This opportunity was made possible because of the PROMISES grant awarded last fall.

He also celebrated the six Lincoln High School seniors who signed commitments to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences to become educators. In a partnership between UNL and the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy at Kansas State University, the goal of the Project RAICES initiative is to recruit and develop a more diverse group of educators. This project fits in with the LPS Strategic Plan and All Means All plan goals of increasing the percentage of all employee groups from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Gausman wrapped his report inviting the community to the a special open house this Friday, April 12, from 5:30 -7 p.m. as the Arts and Humanities Focus Program celebrates 25 years. The building will be remodeled next year, so this is one of the last chances to see the original space.

The open house at Arts and Humanities Focus Program will include tours and refreshments with a short program starting at 6:00 p.m. The community is invited to attend in person or watch the program livestream on the Lincoln Public Schools website.

Public comment

There was one individual that addressed the Board during public comment. You can watch the public comment as part of the full meeting video here.

Glimpses of LPS

We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights Lincoln Public Schools. Tuesday’s Glimpses featured a new series Classroom Calling and the work by Ben Lytle, a teacher for students who are visually impaired.

Published: April 9, 2024, Updated: April 9, 2024