Reflection on Leadership Omaha | Education

I am always proud to tell the good news of Omaha Public Schools to members of our community. On Thursday, November 16, Leadership Omaha Class 40 got a surface-level peek into education in Omaha, grades PK – 16.

Our day started in the lecture hall at Omaha North Magnet High School where we were given great hospitality by principal, Gene Haynes. Mr. Haynes is an institution. He has worked for Omaha Public Schools since 1967 where he started his career as a teacher and the first African American basketball coach in OPS at Omaha Technical High School. His principalship at North High began in 1987 where he’s been paving the way for young people in North Omaha ever since.

Mr. Haynes is someone who remembers everybody’s name and knows each one of his students. As a district employee, I can tell you first hand that Mr. Haynes is also the type of leader who trusts his staff as experts, and supports children through positive relationships. It was great to hear directly from him about his career and about the awesome programs that North High has to offer.

After Mr. Haynes finished his presentation we got some insight to the International Baccalaureate program at Central High School from Coordinator, Cathy Andrus and four students of the program.

We also received a glimpse into the early childhood world with Renee Wessels, Associate Executive Director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and Dr. Debora Wisneski, Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Fifty students from North High took our group on a tour of the facility and ate school lunch with us. I have to tell you, I’ve been an educator for 7 years and this was my first experience eating school lunch. (I joke that as a teacher you usually have approximately 8 minutes to inhale a half a sandwich while standing up and consoling students who need support).

My personal tour guide, Gabe, led the group and showed us the Haddix Center where the Engineering Magnet Program is housed. The facility is beautiful and we’re lucky to have our students experience programs such as these.

  

 

Our group of 50 community leaders was beyond impressed with the programming, leadership, students, and facilities that North High has to offer their students and community. I was truly #OPSProud to share in their experience.

The afternoon brought a new experience for me personally as I got to see a side of education that I don’t usually have experience with: private school and the post-secondary world.

Our cohort was split into eight smaller groups and we dispersed throughout the city, navigating public, private, and afterschool programming across the community.

My group headed to Mercy High School where we were led on a tour by their Director of Development, Jim Pogge. Mercy is a Sisters of Mercy, Catholic, all-girls high school located in the heart of midtown Omaha. We got a first-hand look through this development lens of how private school tuition is funded (at Mercy, in particular, many of their students receive substantial scholarships which are fundraised). This was also the first time we’ve had a chance as a small group to discuss some differing opinions on funding models for education in Nebraska. While these conversations were rich and healthy, it made me desire to seek additional knowledge regarding educational funding policy in our state. This is something I hope that Leadership Omaha will provide it’s future classes with as part of the Education seminar.

Our day ended at the Fort Omaha campus of Metropolitan Community College where we toured their most updated, state-of-the-art facilities. The technical courses, associate degrees, and certifications that this program provides are innovative and abundant. By day’s end, I personally had a desire to take some courses myself.

The hospitality showed by all institutions throughout the day was much appreciated!

Takeaways for Education

While our group saw the most impressive things about the schools we visited, no matter how proud I am to work where I work, as an educator, the needs to shift the system are very close to home. Since the Education Seminar, I’ve had an opportunity to present at a board meeting regarding a policy and how it impacts my work and students in our community. I would have participated in this presentation regardless of my involvement with Leadership Omaha, but what I did notice was that I was not alone in the crowd. One of my fellow classmates was in the audience the night of that December board meeting. Her dedication and passion for what happens in our public schools and how that impacts students is what brought her out to have a presence within our school community, though she no longer has children within the Omaha Public Schools herself.

Walking away from this experience and that meeting has left me seeking opportunities to get more involved from a policy level in education in my community. Many policy makers who don’t work within schools and districts come to the table ready to support and improve schools in the community, but don’t necessarily have the pedagogical knowledge of cognitive development, or the impact of assessment on student learning, let alone an understanding of how assessment paints a picture of what happens within the four walls of a classroom on a day-to-day basis. I’m eager to continue helping to contribute to the knowledge of these policy makers and exploring how to possibly serve as one myself someday. In the meantime, I can continue to work to propose and support policies within our school district that impact student learning and our community.

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This year, I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in the 40th class of The Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s group, Leadership Omaha. According to the Omaha Chamber website, Leadership Omaha was launched in 1978 “to develop effective leaders who will strengthen and transform the community.” Leadership Omaha fosters professional growth through the following four goals:

Communication – Leadership Omaha will provide opportunities for communication among emerging and established leadership.

Awareness – Leadership Omaha will develop participant awareness of the Omaha community, its problems, challenges, and opportunities, by examining the major systems and their interrelationships which contribute to patterns of life in the city.

Leadership – Leadership Omaha will explore aspects of leadership and help participants identify and enhance their own leadership styles with emphasis on the community perspective.

Motivation – Leadership Omaha will create an environment in which participants are motivated to develop a sense of community trusteeship and encouraged to assume leadership roles in community affairs.

For one day each month, Class 40 will spend time learning about specific aspects of what make up our city so great. October’s Leadership Omaha Seminar was all about City Environment.