NPS A UP DATE
Checking in with Nebraska Public School Advantage By TYLER DAHLGREN, NCSA Communications Specialist I didn’t know it at the time, walking happily around the Nebraska ProStart Culinary Competition on March 5th, chatting with chefs and chopping it up with seriously-skilled cooks, but NPSA’s school year of storytelling was about to end with a soufflé. For a writer tasked with finding and telling stories which illustrate the sheer awesomeness of Nebraska’s public schools, the 2019-20 school year was an all-timer, even if the calendar was cut two months short. In the condensed second semester alone, I entered a virtual reality in Bertand’s library, watched a heartwarming game of kickball in O’Neill, discovered the power of mentorship in Gothenburg and Chappell and stepped into the world of an FFA super-team in Atkinson. When the COVID-19 pandemic altered the course of the school year in mid-March, the power of public education continued to shine through layers and layers of uncertainty. Schools transitioned to remote learning. Quarantine became the new norm. Zoom participation sky-rocketed. But your stories were still there to be told. NPSA launched its Senior Spotlight series. On March 15th, that name was way more original than it sounds now. We caught up with memorable members from the Class of 2020 from Pierce, Adams Central, Fullerton, Creek Valley and Holdrege. We gained remarkable insight from the state’s FBLA and FCCLA presidents and we learned that students, just like us, are just trying their best to put one foot in front of the other. To move forward. To take the next step. Their schools have been there every step of the way.
You’ve all navigated the pandemic in incredible ways. The meals districts are distributing on a daily basis, the different ways teachers are staying in touch with their students, and the leadership through unavoidable uncertainty from our state’s administrators, those stories could fill the pages of an epic novel. Schools have stories. You have stories. Now, you have more than ever. When the bell rings again, we’ll be right there to help tell them. *NPSA is always looking for story leads. There are great things going on in your district. Share them with us by emailing tyler@ncsa.org or dropping us a lead on the NPSA website! Visit www.nebraska-advantage.org for more. ■
SUMMER 2020 NCSA TODAY
21
