“We truly have the best paraeducators. During the pandemic, they have helped tutor online, cleaned the school, packed & served meals, and many other countless things. Without these people, things would not get done at O’Neill Public Schools.”

Jim York
O’Neill Elementary

“It is not always the big flashy things that are extraordinary; we do a lot of small things. I know that a Special Education Teacher and Speech Pathologist have already met with a parent on a weekend [this summer] to address her fears about school opening. Perhaps a small thing, but big in the mind of that one parent.”

Rex Anderson
Gretna Public Schools

“We have several students each year that graduate with their two-year degree at the local junior college the day before they graduate from high school.

Also, our JROTC does a great job of participating in our local special olympics program. This past year, nearly 40 of their members participated in either unified volleyball or basketball.”

Wendy Kemling
Scottsbluff Public Schools

“During virtual learning, the individual attention given to students by staff and administration was amazing. Being in a smaller district allowed for this to be obtainable.”

Cristen Witte
Valentine Community Schools

“We focus on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, integrating those into our classrooms and school culture as much as possible. Teachers and students both have leadership groups, called Lighthouse groups. They help make key decisions for the district. But, all students are encouraged to be part of the betterment of the school and district.

This is something that has been done for a few years within the secondary building but is just starting at the elementary. We continue to learn and grow as a district, implementing more strategies and training each year.”

Stuart Lenz
Wood River High School

“During this pandemic, our kitchen and classified staff have been making and delivering meals to kids all over the district. We have also had teachers meeting with kids this summer, individually, so those relationships remain strong.”

Patrick Ningen
Creek Valley Public Schools

“We are a very small school of only 130 Pk-12 students. What is most extraordinary about us is our sense of family. From staff to students, we are an extended family. We have focused on character traits along with academic success.

Every Monday morning we gather in the gym for Monday Morning Motivation to get ​“pumped” for the week. There we do activities, celebrate successes, learn ​“words of the week,” etc.”

Cathy Cooper
Summerland Public Schools

“We finally just had graduation for our 100th graduating class in McPherson County. This was an amazing class of nine young women who excelled in leadership and collaboration. This remarkable class supported each other and all of the students of McPherson County.”

Deb Brownfield
McPherson County Schools

“I’d love to share the success of our Family Group system at Eagle Elementary, where students know that there is more than one adult that cares deeply for them. 

The entire staff is involved in making connections and supporting students K‑5, and every student builds relationships with students across the building. This is one small way we build connections across the building and make sure all students feel successful and see themselves as role models.”

Megan Flohr
Eagle Elementary School

“The High School principal ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) for his seniors and recorded it via Facebook Live. He ran one mile for every year our seniors were in school. 

Plus, our virtual graduation was awesome and can be found on our website. Danielle Arganbright was the teacher who created it and needs a huge pat on the back. 

The parents also organized a cruise for our seniors. The students stood on the sidewalks and everybody in town and some out of town drove down main street honking and waiving for our seniors. It was great.”

Andy Cronin
Valentine High School

“We are starting a partnership with Civic Nebraska to offer a before/​after school program. It’s going to take a while to get things up and running, but we are excited about this opportunity for our students.”

Shelly Dostal
Raymond Central Elementary

“We are a Class C school that has a Health Career Academy. We were able to hire a doctor of Athletic Training to expand the program and will be creating our own athletic training group utilizing our students at practices and games!”

Jeff Steinbeck
Hershey Public School

“Our Deaf Education Program is amazing. The staff worked so hard to help a student, who more than likely struggles with behavior due to an inability to communicate and express themself, transform into a happy, confident learner. It is truly amazing.”

Bruce Strong
Woodland Park Elementary

“One thing that we started with our 7 – 12 students last year was a mentor program. Each teacher was given a group of students and they met at least once every two weeks. These mentors were the contact person for the student as well as their ​“advisor.” Having the program has helped decrease our absence rate and the students have given feedback that they enjoy feeling like they are cared for. 

Being a small school we place a lot of focus on the ​“family” atmosphere and the mentor program has helped emphasize this for our secondary students. It’s still a work in progress but it has shown positive effects on student and teacher morale in the first year. Our teachers have commented that being a part of the program has helped them understand particular students’ struggles and allowed them to show more empathy when dealing with them.”

Craig Trampe
Arcadia Public Schools

“We are installing LTE towers in both communities to broadcast Education Broadband Service to all family households in the district. Households will be provided the appropriate MiFi connection to enable all students to have 24/7 access to educational internet service.”

Jon Cerny
Bancroft-Rosalie Community School

“Gothenburg Public Schools has a motto of ​“all means all”. We embrace this motto not only in our public school district but also with our constant, collaborative community engagement. Gothenburg is the smallest community in the country with a YMCA, something the school played an important part to bring to our community. We believe in ensuring a brighter future for all of our students and that starts with health and wellness. The school strongly supports the YMCA’s after-school program because there is a focus on safety, health, social growth, and academic enhancement. 

We are a community that takes care of its own with city-wide programs that aim to improve the quality of life for residents that may need a helping hand from time to time. This includes Gothenburg’s Food Access Initiative. The school is ground zero in providing food for the children in our community. When a family cannot afford food outside of our doors, we offer support beyond our school food program with programs like Lunch Buddies and the BackPack program. 

The school works tirelessly in these partnerships to guarantee our stakeholders have access to the resources they need both inside our building and out in the community. ​“All” truly does mean ​“all”.”

Angela Richeson
Dudley Elementary School

“We are experiencing a resurgence in school pride among current and former students. As an alumnus, it’s been a priority of mine to help our alumni (re)connect with their alma mater.”

Darron Arlt
Plainview Schools

“[I’m proud of] our collaborative, holistic approach to student wellness, particularly mental wellness. Our district continues to develop a system of supports that includes a leadership team, a full-time mental health provider, a ​“family-based” cross-grade grouping of students for teacher-developed SEL topic sessions (ROAR — Respect Others, Accept Responsibility). Tiers of support help to individualize services for students and include community-based partners.”

Jeremy Christiansen
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School

“At the elementary in the spring semester, our students participate in Friendship Fridays. Each elementary student puts their name on the back of a sticky note. When the student’s come in they grab a random sticky note and write something positive about the student they picked. This activity spans grade levels. My own children save these notes at home because they mean so much to them.”

Megan Soundy
Hayes Center Public Schools

“There are numerous extraordinary things going on in our district and our school building, but I think the biggest celebration is that we continue to work tirelessly within the district to ensure students are safe, healthy, and cared for. 

The outpouring of support in our district for our Monday food distribution program was incredible, and the momentum has not stopped. Each week, there are more willing volunteers than slots available to help with packaging and distributing food to our families. Our building is one of the distribution locations and watching it unfold was truly one of the proudest moments I’ve had as an educator.”

Mikaela Vobejda
Golden Hills Elementary