Last week, we announced plans to transition students back into a five-day, in-person learning schedule beginning in early February. Families received email notifications detailing the phased implementation plan that will start with our elementary school students Feb. 1.

As we reflect on our first semester and look toward the remainder of this school year, we know having our students in person, learning from their teachers Monday through Friday will best support their academic and social-emotional instruction as we initiate the early stages of our academic recovery efforts.

Nearly one year ago we faced the worldwide disruption caused by this pandemic, the first of its kind in a century. The year 2020 brought everyone more challenges than at times we probably thought we could meet. Far too many people faced loss and financial uncertainty. For our families, we know the challenges of remote learning after spring break and adapted schedules this fall placed unwelcomed burdens on daily routines, created social and emotional stress and impacted some students’ ability to perform at their highest levels.

While we would all like to see community health conditions improve more rapidly, our commitment to student success compels us to move forward and make this change to support our students and families. For families who prefer the remote learning option, our Remote Learning Program will continue. Please contact your student’s school for more information about changing whether your student learns remotely or in person.

The impacts of this pandemic continue to require flexibility from all of us. Through it all, students remain at the forefront of our decision making. We look forward to support from our Omaha Public Schools community in making a responsible transition by following health guidelines in and out of school.

We are proud to welcome three new members to the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education. The new board members were sworn in at the board meeting on Jan. 4, 2021.

Jane Erdenberger is a life-long resident of Omaha. She graduated from Westside High School in 1971, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1975 and from the George Washington National Law Center in Washington D.C. in 1978. She returned to Omaha to join the Kutak Rock national law firm where she was a public finance lawyer for 22 years. She earned a second bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, in education, retired from Kutak Rock, and taught African American History, ethnic studies and honors geography at Omaha North High School for 16 years and then taught at the Omaha Home for Boys for two-and-a-half additional years.

Her husband, Mark Hoeger, is the sole proprietor of a video production company, teaches film language and history at the University of Nebraska Omaha and serves on the Learning Community Board. They have two daughters; Christian has a masters degree in psychological counseling from Columbia University and a private practice in Omaha, and Eleanor has a master’s degree in museum studies from George Washington University and is a collections specialist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Jane is determined to address issues of educational inequity, identify non-college based career paths and recruit, reward and retain the excellent teaching and support staff enjoyed by Omaha Public Schools.

Spencer Head is the senior vice president for EZPolitix LLC, serving political, government and association clients across the country. He earned a bachelor's degree from Hastings College in political science and criminal justice. Spencer returned to Omaha to begin serving our community as an outreach liaison to the education and medical communities for Congressman Lee Terry while simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Spencer then served as the policy advisor for Speaker of the Legislature, Jim Scheer, in the Nebraska Legislature.

While serving the Speaker, Spencer played a key role in passing meaningful education reforms such as: implementing the ACT as the state’s standard test, updating high school civics standards and ensuring that the state could take over investment of OPS’s pension fund.

Spencer serves on the board of directors for the Victory Boxing Club and Community Center and volunteers with Omaha area non-profit organizations.

Spencer decided to run for the board because he believes in the mission and vision of OPS and the unending talent and potential of OPS students, teachers, and staff. Serving on the board is a way to give back to the Omaha community and ensure that every student is provided with the knowledge to be successful in life after leaving OPS.

Spencer and his wife, Kelly, an OPS speech-language pathologist, make their home in Northwest Omaha where they are raising their daughter, Reagan, and son, Theodore.

Nick Thielen is executive vice president and deputy general counsel for EHPV Management Group. Previously, Nick clerked for Federal District Court Judge Lyle Strom and worked as a litigation associate at Kutak Rock. Nick is an active member of the Omaha Inns of Court and sits on the Nebraska Bar Association’s House of Delegates and Professional Enhancement Committee. Nick also sits on the board of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, the board of Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance and a local Foster Care Review Board.

Nick received a bachelor's degree in Economics from Colgate University and a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Nick and his wife, Jennifer, have three young daughters.

Welcoming families into our schools is important to Omaha Public Schools and to the students we serve. As we innovate during the pandemic, we are opening our doors virtually this year to allow an opportunity to showcase all that our schools have to offer.

Although the open houses look a little different, the spirit and culture of each school will still shine through to prospective students. Schools across our district have produced video tours featuring principal introductions, curriculum highlights and program offerings.

During the month of January 2021, families will have an opportunity to submit their school choice requests for the 2021-22 school year.

Students currently learning in person with the Family 3/2 Model will receive an application from their current school the week of Jan. 19. At the same time, parents and guardians of students in the Remote Learning Program will receive an email with a link to make their selection. Please complete your selection by Jan. 29.

Visit sap.ops.org to learn about the current Omaha Public Schools Student Assignment Plan and to determine your student's neighborhood school and transportation eligibility. If you have questions about student transportation or neighborhood schools, please call the Student Placement Office at 531-299-0302 or email studentplacement@ops.org.

Omaha Virtual School open house and 2021-22 enrollment information will be available in March. Learn more about Omaha Virtual School.

In a year of video calls and hybrid learning, students at King Science and Technology Center are taking advantage of an opportunity to get their hands dirty.

A partnership with the engineering department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln challenges Zoo Academy students at King Science to think like engineers, designing their own solutions to problems posed in their classes.

"UNL engineering students teach a mini section remotely, then they set us up for an experiment and our kids do the experiment in the classroom,” said Dr. Carrie Rath, principal of King Science. “Kids in the classroom turn on their cameras as they're working so the students learning remotely can watch them build the model and they work together to design it.”

Jacob Contreras, the King Science teacher partnering with UNL, is excited about the topics they've been able to share with his students.

"We’ve had students of agricultural engineering, natural resources, mechanical, electrical; engineering is such a wide field and our students have been able to learn from people who are being trained in a number of areas," shared Contreras. "We had the UNL team work with us five times last semester and each time we were able to dive in pretty deep to what they had to offer."

Madison Neely, a student in Contreras' class, had a lot to share about her experience.

"I really enjoyed having the UNL team teaching us because it’s been fun to get different perspectives from different people.”

Neely continued, "I’m a very visual and hands-on type of learner, so being able to interact with things and visually see how things work was a lot of fun and worked really well for me. I’m definitely looking forward to our future experiments and our meetings with the UNL team."

The students are currently designing their own water filtration system, and Contreras is excited to set up more partner experiments in the future.

"I’m always looking for opportunities to engage the students through outside sources," explained Contreras. "The students get to see new faces every day, and they get to experience more than I could teach them on my own."

Through the use of technology, this learning opportunity has continued for students who are learning in person and those learning from home.

"We're giving our students another layer of exposure to potential careers in science, and it's all STEM based learning, so it's definitely a win-win," shared Rath.

OPS Student's Quick Action Saves a Child's Life

As people around Zoie Johnson enjoyed a day at the pool, she stopped what she was doing when she noticed something didn’t seem right.

"I saw this little girl by herself in the water, and I thought she was just floating or swimming, but a minute later I came back around and I saw her in the same exact place," she said.

Johnson, a fifth grade student at King Elementary, stepped in to help, pulling the three-year-old girl out of the pool.

Brianne Tapely, Zoie's mom, explained, "She went over to the little girl, flipped her over and got her out of the water, and she called out for the adults who were near the water and told them that this girl wasn't breathing."

Thanks to Johnson's quick action and the help of adults nearby who performed CPR, the young girl was revived and breathing on her own by the time paramedics arrived.

"I just wanted to help that little girl," said Johnson. "I didn't want her to lose her life."

For her heroic actions, Johnson was awarded the Citizen Lifesaving Award by the Omaha Fire Department on Nov. 13, 2020. Watch the video below to hear more about Johnson’s incredible bravery.

Anyone can nominate a Top Teacher at CHIhealth.com/TopTeachers.

If you would like to view the latest CHI newsletter devoted to youth issues, please click here.

Kindergarten registration for the 2021-2022 school year is open until Jan. 29.

To register your child, click here or visit our website for more information.

STEMfinity has the largest selection of hands-on enrichment from the most trusted STEM brands on the planet. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, STEMfinity has resources that will fit your background and learning environment.

Teach STEM with LEGO Education: LEGO Education's SPIKE Prime program offers hands-on lesson plans solution for elementary and middle school students. These learning tools combine colorful LEGO building elements, easy-to-use hardware and an intuitive drag-and-drop coding language. SPIKE Prime helps students learn essential STEM skills, all while having fun!

Porch.com, a home improvement website, offers creative activities for families with their "Simple STEM Activities to Do At Home."

SciStarter supports educators, learners, parents, administrators, guardians and all stakeholders in sharing authentic science experiences in a variety of learning environments. Their projects offer real-world science engagement for face-to-face, outdoor, online, remote, blended and in-home learning settings. You'll find helpful "getting started" videos, classroom connections, printable data sheets and other free resources.

... to the 2020 winter graduates of the Multiple Pathways program. We congratulate these OPS graduates and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

... to Aaniya Webb and Inia Jones of Central High School for being selected to the All-Metro Tournament team for girls basketball.

... to Giovanna Zermeno of Norris Middle School for being awarded the Nebraska Middle School Counselor of the Year award.

... to Jacqueline Hotz of Walnut Hill Elementary for being awarded the Nebraska Elementary School Counselor of the Year award.

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