The Grand Island Public Schools "Board Brief" is an online monthly publication sharing the Board of Education meeting highlights, updates, campus recognitions, and more.

Here's a recap of the April 2025 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• Donna Douglass and Lisa Albers were not present but gave prior notice.

Mrs. Kari Hooker-Leep, GIPS Foundation Executive Director, shared an update on two of the biggest initiatives for the GIPS Foundation each year:

• 2025 Scholarships and Receptions
• Kicking-Off the 2025 Staff Giving Campaign

Reporting stats for the GIPS Foundation 2025 Scholarship season include:

• 79 Graduates earned scholarships .
• 182 Scholarships were awarded.
• $693,823 was the total amount awarded.

The annual "Why I Give" Staff Campaign has kicked-off:

• Campaign for GIPS staff to donate towards the GIPS Foundation run until April 25th.
• Donations hitting $84 or above earn a GIPS Foundation t-shirt.
• The staff campaign is a great way for GIPS certified and classified staff to contribute to and feel a part of the meaningful programs the Foundation provides for students and staff.

Nominations are open for the annual Teacher of the Year Awards presented by the GIPS Foundation.

• Nominations close on April 29th and may be submitted at gipsfoundation.org.
• Annual staff awards include: Elementary Teacher of the Year, Middle School Teacher of the Year, Elementary Teacher of the Year, Specialist of the Year, Staff Member of the Year, and Administrator of the Year.

Hear Mrs. Hooker-Leep's full presentation HERE.

Mrs. Christine Ostermeyer, FiT Coordinator, shared an update on the services and support provided by the GIPS Families in Transition Program.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is the primary piece of federal legislation dealing with the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. Families in Transition supports students, families, and schools so that we can find success for every GIPS student.

Current reporting from the state of Nebraska includes:

• 10% of Nebraska's population is below poverty level.
• Nearly 1 in 10 Nebraska students experience unstable housing.
• Unaccompanied youth make up 11% of the identified students.
• 1 in 4 homeless students are also enrolled in EL services.

GIPS FiT reporting from the 2024-25 school year includes:

• 348 students qualified to receive serves under the McKinney Vento Act so far.
• 81% of those students are doubled up with friends or family.
• 27 students resided in a shelter program.
• 45 students do not live with a legal guardian.
• The "348 students" number is represented in 17 of our 19 district schools.

Goals for the FiT Program include:

• Supporting student dreams to be college or career ready.
• Provide opportunities for all GIPS Staff to receive basic training on FiT and additional support.
• Reducing stigma by talking about mental health support, housing insecurity, and poverty appropriately.
• Leveraging community partnerships by working with nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations.

Hear Mrs. Ostermeyer's full presentation HERE.

Mrs. Karma Lewandowski, GIEA Officer and GIPS Special Education Transition Specialist, shared an invitation with the Board of Education to attend the annual Grand Island Education Association (GIEA) Retirement and Years of Service Celebration.

The annual event gathers GIEA members, school Principals, and administrators to salute the educators who have hit noteworthy milestones in service to education, and to congratulate educators who plan to enter retirement at the end of the school year.

Hear Mrs. Lewandowski's full presentation HERE.

Dr. Danielle Buhrman, GIPS Academic Coach & Math Curriculum Coordinator, Cailtin Jensen, Howard Elementary Academic Support Coach, & Andrea Hermance, Shoemaker Elementary 1st Grade Teacher, shared a timely update regarding math curriculum resources in the district.

The district's current elementary math resource, Origo Stepping Stones, is approaching the end of its pre-paid material cycle, necessitating a review. After a thorough evaluation involving teachers, coaches, and administrators, a consensus emerged that a new math resource is required to better align with best practices and state standards.

Highlights from the presentation include:

• The district's current math resource, Origo Stepping Stones, will be ending its prepaid period in 2025-2026, necessitating the selection of new materials.
• Per district policy, A year-long process is underway, involving needs assessments, implementation planning, a diverse review committee, field testing, and Board of Education approval.
• Stakeholder teams, including teachers, coaches, and principals, reviewed the current materials and analyzed district data. They identified weaknesses in Origo, such as rigor, alignment, and practice opportunities.
• The original timeline is being followed, with resource exploration in 2024-2025, a pilot of two resources in 2025-2026, and adoption of new resources in 2026-2027.
• The committee narrowed down the options to six resources and then focused on five: Bridges in Mathematics, Into Math (HMH), i-Ready, Amplify - Desmos Math, and Great Minds - Eureka2.
• Two resources, Amplify Desmos Math and Eureka2, were chosen for pilot programs in four elementary schools. Eureka2 would pilot at Lincoln Elementary & Newell Elementary. Amplify Desmos Math would pilot at Starr Elementary & Stolley Park Elementary.
• A proposal requests up to $95,000 in Leading for Learning funds to support the year-long pilot programs. The funding for curriculum has been earmarked in the Leading for Learning budget for years as the cycle curriculum updates would be arriving regardless.

This was shared as both an Information Item and an Action Item so that, if approved, materials for Summer training may be ordered and arrive on-time.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared the latest installment of district policy reviews and proposed updates. Descriptions of the proposals may be found immediately below.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full presentation on policies HERE.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed updates would include:

• Removing "The" in front of the title "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Other proposed changes are aimed at fixing syntax, shortening sentences, and establishing consistent tense usage.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for an Action Item vote at May's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Removing "The" in front of the title "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Updating a phrase from "in good taste" to instead read "appropriate" in relation to clothing choices by staff.
• Removing the final sentence that read: "Discretion and common sense call for an avoidance of extremes which would interfere with or have an effect on the educational process."

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for an Action Item vote at May's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Adding expectations in the policy to include "Vapor Products". Specifically, stipulating that staff, visitors, and volunteers are not permitted to use tobacco products nor vapor products while on district grounds.
• Removing "The" in front of the title "Grand Island Public Schools".

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for an Action Item vote at May's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Removing "The" in front of the title "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Adding a clarifying statement at the beginning of the fourth sentence that reads, "Activities that are prohibited include".
• Overall, the intent of the policy would remain the same which states, "Staff shall not engage in political activity upon property under the jurisdiction of Grand Island Public Schools."

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for an Action Item vote at May's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Updating the staff training components of internet safety to include more current internet-based terminology and present day use cases. For example, instead of referencing the "world wide web" we would refer to it as "internet".
• Expansion of the staff training also includes specific online behavior on social media.
• Emphasises the importance of teaching digital safety and digital citizenship to our students.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for an Action Item vote at May's Board meeting.

Owen Williams, GISH Senior, was elected by his peers to represent them on the Board of Education as a Student Representative. At each Board Meeting, Owen shares a student report.

Highlights from Owen's report include:

Hear Owen's full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

• Inspire Women's Leadership Awards - It’s always great when we have people from the district – employees and students – who get that recognition. We had three staff members and two students be named finalists with three of our people earning awards. Congrats!
  
  

• SkillsUSA state contest is in Grand Island tomorrow. It’s amazing to see the skill level that students showcase in those competitions.
  
  

• Key Communicators stakeholder group met this week. We discussed with that group a potential new opportunity to engage community members to learn more about the work of Grand Island Public Schools.
  
  

• Spring season is here which also means a lot of great art productions taking place. “Ramona Quimby” on the GISH Little Theatre stage was a great show to see. Looking at the rest of the school year’s schedule – there’s a concert just about every night it seems for our schools. There’s a lot of great art to see!
  
  

• Scholarship receptions hosted by the Foundation are coming up. Those are really neat things that we do that provides an opportunity to see how our students interact with our public.
  
  

• GIEA has their retiree recognition event coming-up on May 7th.
  
  

• The district has their retiree recognition event on May 12th as well.
  
  

• UNL NCPA Senior recognition and open house is scheduled for April 23rd. Another great opportunity to see our students engage with the public and showcase their work in the program.
  
  

• April 26th is the Seedling Mile open house.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full report HERE.

See above information item for rationalte.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

The proposed changes would include:

• Eliminate the “The” listed before Grand Island Public Schools.
• Updating the language to say “would not exceed the maximum levy allowed” rather than listing the actual dollar amount. This allows for more generalization so if there’s a change in law for dollar amount, the policy will still be viable.
• Also updating to read “funds available as approved by the board and allowed by the statute." rather than listing specific budget line items.

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to drop the "The" in front of the name of, "Grand Island Public Schools".

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes at this time.

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes at this time.

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to edit the label "Board of Education" to read as just "the Board".

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to drop the "The" in front of the name of, "Grand Island Public Schools".

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

Two proposed changes include:

• To drop the "The" in front of the name of, "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Add a sentence that reads, "In 2015 the name was changed to the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation."

This was shared as a first read item at the March Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0