My Views Are My Own
By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.
1/21/25
I spent the past couple weeks meeting with superintendents across District 3. One visit that stands out to me is Fremont Public Schools. Fremont is the home of the most impressive Career and Technical Education Center (CTE) I have EVER toured. Around the time that I was learning about this project, I was also presented information on the mental health facility being added onto Benson High School in Omaha. The CTE Center cost taxpayers approximately $10 million while the mental health facility costs taxpayers approximately $8 million to build (see articles linked above).
While I am a wholehearted believer in smaller government, I began thinking about these two very distinct investments in our future generations. These projects utilize taxpayer
funding for school-based services outside of the traditional public education offerings. Although the Omaha school district is not in my area and I have not visited with anyone from the district regarding the Benson project, I believe that it is vitally important for the public, Nebraska’s elected officials, and policymakers to consider the implications of blurring the lines between the medical field and the education field. What is the best approach to solving our mental health crisis? I do believe Fremont Public Schools is onto something.
After reading The Anxious Generation and Bad Therapy, it is clear that we have a serious mental health crisis and there are wonderful things we can do for kids, and not so wonderful approaches to solving this crisis. With more than 20 years of teaching experience, I can tell you from personal experience that building confidence in kids that translates to success in the classroom, in math, literacy, science, and civics, is the best way to improve their overall mental health. What better way to further students’ goals than by preparing them for their futures with hands-on skill building!
Four-year universities are not for everyone and that is ok! Kids drop out and stop coming to school when they feel school is not benefitting their lives. Providing kids with opportunities to earn college credits while learning a skill that gets them to their end goal is exactly what the CTE Center in Fremont is doing. Whether it’s welding, plumbing, diesel mechanics, construction, drafting, mechatronics, nursing, and so much more, kids are learning skills and earning credits that gets them excited about learning and their futures! If you are in the Fremont area, be sure to check it out and see what you think. I do believe this is a winning model for public education.
Comments