Champions of Children

By Rachel Wise, District 3, Nebraska State Board of Education (November, 2015)

This month I would like to highlight and recognize some very special people and schools. Recently, two schools in Northeast Nebraska were recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary School in Bancroft and Washington Elementary School in Norfolk were recognized for their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps. In addition, Dr. Jon Cerny, principal at Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary School, was named one of seven principals from the 2015 National Blue Ribbon Schools to receive the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership.

A highlight of serving on the Nebraska State Board of Education is participating in the celebration of outstanding teachers. On November 5^th, the Nebraska State Board of Education recognized the 2016 Teacher of the Year, the recipients of the Excellence in Teaching Awards as well as the Milken Educator Award winner. The Nebraska Teacher of the Year program has been in place since 1972. The Teacher of the Year is Tim Royers from Millard West High School. The Excellence in Teaching Award winners are: Lori Boudreau of Papillion La Vista High School; Lynn Hill of Millard South High School; Daniel Schaben of Arapahoe Public School; and Jayson Stoddard of Hastings Middle School. The commonality of all of these exceptional teachers includes a passion for teaching their students and an ability to inspire and motivate every student every day!

The Milken Educator Awards were launched by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. The Milken Educator Award recipients are early to mid-career teachers selected for what they have achieved and for their promise and commitment to the profession of teaching. The Milken Educator Award recipient is Courtney Matulka from the Millard Public Schools, Beadle Middle School.

Following the November luncheon celebration, the State Board of Education was honored by remarks from the 2016 Teacher of the Year Tim Royers who provided insightful comments regarding his love for teaching and learning. Also presenting was the 2015 Teacher of the Year, Shelby Aaberg from Scottsbluff High School, who provided an overview of his experiences traveling Nebraska and the country as Nebraska’s Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations to these outstanding schools and amazing educators who are the everyday champions of children and education.

A year ago, I provided information about the Nebraska Department of Education’s plan to submit a “waiver” or flexibility request under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to the United States Department of Education. Recently, NDE received information regarding changes that would need to be made to the plan before any approval could occur. At the same time, it appears there may be some movement by Congress to get their work done and to reauthorize the Act! So, we are in a “wait and see” mode. If reauthorization occurs, there will not be a need for the waiver.

This article represents my personal view, not that of the State Board of Education or my role as president. Feel free to contact me at rachel.wise@nebraska.gov. Search the Nebraska Department of Education website at www.education.ne.gov to learn more about education in our state.