From Industrial Revolution to Digital Evolution

by Carol Wang

As this story hits the streets, tensions are very high with teachers and educators across the state. Nebraska’s annual “State of the Schools” report is about to be released.

Headlines will scream ‘What’s Wrong With Education’ and ‘Failing Schools,’ causing politicians to debate the fix for the American public education system and school administrators to carefully word their...

Freddie Gray stands fast on her handling of Sebring scandal

by Leo Adam Biga

Freddie Gray knows being second-guessed and scrutinized comes with the job of Omaha Public School Board President. But when she came under fire over her handling of the Nancy Sebring scandal she got more than she bargained for, including allegations she'd violated the public trust and calls for her resignation or ouster.

Sebring is the former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent OPS hired...

Dedicated to Teaching And Students

by Deb Walters

Dr. John Mackiel served the Omaha Public School District for 40 years, first as a reading and English teacher at Burke High School and for the last 15 years as superintendent, overseeing $254 million in school improvements, legal challenges to the state's school finance system and the formation of the Learning Community. He retired from the district on July 31.

What have been the best...

Gender equity in sports has come a long way, baby

by Leo Adam Biga

Participants in girls and women's sports today should be forgiven if they take for granted the bounty of athletic scholarships, competitive opportunities, training facilities and playing venues afforded them.

After all, they've never known anything else.

Their predecessors from two generations ago or more, however, faced a much leaner landscape. One where athletic scholarships were unheard...

Let’s Talk About Sex

by Warren Francke

An in-depth story about sex education ran in 1975 with a cartoon showing two sign-carrying protesters proclaiming, “Sex Education isn’t necessary” and “Sex isn’t necessary.”

At the Nebraska University Medical Center, the human sexuality course was only three years old, and at the University of Nebraska-Omaha nothing was offered at the graduate level, though an undergraduate course had just...

Schoolyard Fight

by Deb Walters

Half of the non-partisan Omaha Public School Board’s twelve seats are up for election this year. Of the six expiring terms, two subdistricts have uncontested candidates and three subdistricts have two candidates, leaving only one subdistrict with a competitive primary – subdistrict 12.

West Omaha’s Omaha Public School subdistrict 12 has five candidates, three Republicans and two Democrats,...

The Privilege Pass

by Kyle McClellan

“I want to see your sources. Our library doesn’t have these sources.”

A college professor was scrutinizing one of Franklin Thompson’s papers during his post-graduate studies at the University of Southern Mississippi in the mid-90s. Now an Omaha City Councilman and University of Nebraska at Omaha professor who lectures on multicultural education and race relations, Thompson recalled battling...

Navigating Diverse Waters

by Kyle McClellan

The Omaha Public School district maintains its own research department that measures what and who is in its classrooms. Omaha’s largest district churns out daily lessons to more than 50,000 students in 84 schools. About 67 percent are minorities, speaking 100 different languages. Navigating this complexity requires training and some required reading.

The book OPS is assigning its teachers ...