David Beatty’s teaches at the Pathfinder Education Program, a secondary level program located in the Lancaster County Youth Services Center. His work is so impactful and important that earlier this school year, David was honored as a distinguished educator of the year by the national partnership for juvenile services. The pathfinder program in Lincoln Public Schools helps students who are in some sort of judicial trouble, but it focuses on education continuity and credit recovery.

The state championship run by the Lincoln East girls basketball team last month was memorable for many reasons: the go-ahead bucket, players rising to the occasion, and a team overcoming the loss of a starting guard. Caroline Spethman suffered a concussion from a collision with an opposing player during the semifinal game at the state tournament. It impacted her as an athlete, as a student, and as a person.

The scene is a leadership summit for student-athletes hosted by three of our high school athletic departments. Listen to three excerpts from three speeches from three people with different insight into sportsmanship, and personal talents and branding: a business owner, a director of a coaches association, and a Heisman Trophy winner. Speakers include Charlie Colon, Eric Crouch and Darin Boysen.

Among the 2016 Distinguished Alumni is Jane McManus. She’s a journalist who has covered four Super Bowls, six seasons with the New York Jets, two Final Fours, fifteen US Tennis Opens, one US Golf Open, and Wimbledon.

45 students in Lincoln Public Schools have qualified for state speech, which is this week in Kearney. Lincoln East has won the team title in Class A for the past 14 years. Lincoln Southwest has finished in the top 2 in 3 of the past 4 years, and Lincoln Southeast has the only returning individual champion from LPS, and she performs a very cool snippet for us.

Where do school rituals come from? How does a principal hire dozens of staff members for a school that isn’t even fully built yet? And how does being away from an elementary school for seventh months help someone be a better principal? Wysong Elementary School doesn’t officially open until August, but we have some early answers from Principal Randy Oltman.

Please Note: We are releasing episode #15 early because it features excerpts of the great letters and speeches from our March 1 Thank You Teacher breakfast event. Six students read letters, the five honored teachers give acceptance speeches, with plenty of tears and laughter and pondering great ideas. Enjoy!

Tosh Rick Jock is a bi-lingual liaison in Lincoln Public Schools from South Sudan. After growing up during the cival war of South Sudan, struggling with loss of family members and friends, he made it to America. And yet … he went back to South Sudan. Why? There are two hundred reasons, and one very noble cause.

Lincoln Southeast High School has started a Service Wall of Fame, and the first project honored is the playground at Antelope Park in Lincoln. Staff and students worked together for many years to make the inclusive playground a reality, learning much about service along the way. One former student reads her story of fond memories from the project.