Remote Learning

As of Friday, 5,537 students -- 13.9% of the district's enrollment -- were learning remotely, down from the December peak when nearly a quarter of students were enrolled in remote learning.

Casey Fries, associate principal at Lincoln East, will be responsible for hiring staff, organizing schedules and launching the new program for 785 remote learners at LPS.

LPS officials say the 785 students who signed up -- considerably fewer than indicated an interest in parent surveys -- is a reflection of improving COVID-19 conditions in the community. 

A committee has recommended an array of programs to address both the emotional needs of students as well as help shore up academic losses.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department also recommended that any 10th or 11th graders who have tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 1 and have recovered can safely return full time to school.

About 660 seniors gave up the staggered schedules they've had since school began and came back full time Monday, a change Lincoln Public Schools recently announced.

Teachers and other LPS employees will be vaccinated as a group, possibly at Pinnacle Bank Arena, but the timeline is dependent on supply.

Can you spell C-A-S-U-A-L-T-Y?

LPS called snow days Monday and Tuesday, but won't have students doing remote work as both Millard and Omaha public schools chose to do. 

LPS decided to offer the one-year dedicated remote learning classes to kindergarten through second grade because of high interest, but district officials recommend against it for children that young.

LPS plans to use federal relief money to pay for the one-year remote learning program, where teachers will teach just remote students, not juggle both in-person students in class and those on Zoom. 

While a dedicated virtual school interests about half the parents who plan to opt for remote learning next year if the pandemic continues, that interest drops sharply once schools can resume normally. 

Special education programs at Scott Middle School, East High and Lincoln High will go remote until the end of the semester because of a large number of people in quarantine. 

The fact some students might not have internet access at home is one reason LPS officials plan to continue to add five days into its school calendar for inclement weather.

LPS sent a survey to parents to gauge their interest in a dedicated virtual school that would require students commit to at least a semester and that would have more limited course offerings. 

The Northeast program is the sixth in special education to temporarily shift to remote learning because of the large number of staff and student quarantines. 

The percentage of classes that LPS teachers must cover because substitutes can't be found to fill in has doubled this year because fewer subs are taking jobs.

LPS students would leave early some days and get extra days off under a proposal to give teachers time to plan for both in-person and remote learners, a stressful and burdensome task.

The union says a "not insignificant" number of parents and staff made decisions about returning to school based on the assurances schools would close if the virus risk was "severe."

Parent Maggie Thompson said not formally communicating the change to families and staff was abhorrent. “If you’re going to make a change that big, it shouldn’t be in a passing comment in a board meeting.”

A comparison of standardized test scores shows that LPS third through eighth graders lost few to no reading skills during the rapid shift to remote learning this spring, though they lost more math skills.

Remote learners got kicked off Zoom or in some cases their teachers did for a couple of hours Thursday morning.

Recent surveys of Lincoln Public Schools parents and teachers about remote learning showed a divide: Parents who answered felt considerably better about it than teachers.

Study authors looked at "live" virtual instruction because direct engagement with teachers is so important, especially for struggling students.