JOY in Teaching: Meet the Omaha Public Schools Educator Honored with a Prestigious National Award

The Milken Educator Awards selected Special Education Teacher Lisa Moody of Jefferson Elementary as one of its honorees across the nation. Staff, students and special guests surprised her with the award and $25,000 during a school assembly.

The Milken Educator Award celebrates outstanding K–12 teachers, principals and specialists who are furthering excellence in education. Recipients are selected in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. The prestigious honor is often described as "the Oscars of teaching."

"Lisa exemplifies what it means to provide opportunities for all children in Nebraska," Nebraska Deputy Commissioner of Education Deborah Frison, Ed.D., said. "Her work in special education has changed lives, both of her students and all of the students in her school. She has done an outstanding job making sure every student receives the resources and sense of community they need to be successful and receive an excellent education."

See more from Ms. Moody's surprise celebration on our district homepage.

Common Sense Education

Have you heard the buzz surrounding ChatGPT? Chances are, your students have and they’ve maybe even used this AI chatbot, too.

New technology can be scary and the threat of students using the tool to cheat or receive wrong answers is legitimate, but is it possible the benefits outweigh the risks? We’ve addressed the fears of our students using new technology before, first with the calculator and then with Google’s search engine. Technology will continue to evolve and so should our teaching practices and how our students learn.

Online W-2s Available

Omaha Public Schools delivers secure access to your W-2 tax forms online. This will provide you with a convenient opportunity to retrieve your year-end tax information. The process only takes a few minutes to complete. Download this document for step-by-step instructions.

At Belle Ryan Elementary, Ms. Traphagan goes above and beyond for her students taking into account their unique and individual personalities. She helps students to be more disciplined while still making school fun and enjoyable for them.

Central High gives congratulations to Mr. Dotzler, a 30 Ways to Say Yay winner! He constantly goes above and beyond. He is diligent and consistent and also takes GREAT care and pride in our parking lots, which the staff appreciates immensely. The campus is safer because of him!

Superhuman kindergarten para pictured here at Pawnee Elementary! She helps EVERY kindergarten teacher and all the students. We love Ms. Perez!

Jan. 17 - Jan. 9 - Jan. 3 - Dec. 12 - Dec. 5

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