Urban League Joins with OPS to Boost Education

Written by: Thomas Warren, Sr.

President and CEO, Urban League of Nebraska

The year a student transitions between middle school and high school — 8th grade — is described in education circles as a “make or break” year. That’s why the Urban League of Nebraska (Omaha, NE), in partnership with the Hewlett Foundation and the National Urban League, has launched the “Building Public Will” initiative at Monroe Middle and Benson High Schools.

We identified a 150 students, and we are providing support in their Freshmen Academy. The plan is to provide supplemental support and incentives to encourage students to improve their school attendance and academic achievement.

We’re firing up parents and local stakeholders to get involved and engaged with the students, and we’ve committed staff resources and focused our existing educational programs and assets, in partnership with the building administrators, on those students who are transitioning to high school.

The strategy is aligned with the Omaha school district’s “Strive for 95” program, which encourages students to attend 95% of the school days or miss fewer than 10 days during the school year. According to the research, this benchmark leads to an 85% graduation rate.

The Urban League has been working very closely with the Omaha school district and the Nebraska Department of Education on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The tenets of ESSA include reducing chronic absenteeism and improving college readiness and career preparedness.

To read the full article, click here.