Nebraska Educational Strategic Planning Happening Now!

My Views Are My Own

By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.

4/22/2025

For those who have been following my journey, you know that I have a great passion for literacy.  I have spent the past 24 years researching, practicing, and teaching best practices.  As a first grade teacher, third grade teacher, literacy and math Instructional Coach for priority schools, beginning teacher mentor, university instructor, K-12 English Learner Teacher/Coordinator, I have had the opportunity to be in so many effective and ineffective classrooms and work with so many highly qualified and struggling educators.  I have had the opportunity to see very clearly what works, and what doesn’t.  

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) is currently working to engage the public in feedback around a five year strategic plan for our state.  (You can view the current strategic plan here.) This is a critical opportunity for the public to provide feedback in public education with regard to student achievement and how public tax dollars are used.  The NDE administered a survey to the public, partners such as Education Service Units (ESUs), local school board members, and higher education, and NDE staff.  When looking at results from the general public (393 citizens), I notice that two of the top learning experiences most important for student success are:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving 

• Strong core academic subjects

It is important that everything in our strategic plan is centered around these top two educational purposes.  In my experience as an educator, the most critical piece of the puzzle is the educator in the classroom.  Training effective educators is essential in reaching these goals.  There are some very basic skills that educators must have to be effective in these two areas. 

One of the most important skills teachers need is classroom management.  There are many factors that contribute to the growing behavior crisis in our public schools.  Teachers must be equipped to manage a classroom effectively while advocating for protected instructional time.  Excessive behaviors must be dealt with by parents and administrators so that core academic instructional time is protected.  This alone could potentially solve teacher retention issues.  Administration needs to be aware of educators who struggle with classroom management and get them the support they need.  Otherwise, teaching and learning is minimal.

As you can see by the attached graphic from the NDE survey results, reading is a top concern for our public.  Educators must be trained with essential literacy instruction.  When kids feel successful with reading and math, their mental health significantly improves along with attendance.  While it is important to refrain from excessive formal assessment of young children, teachers must know the needs of their students when it comes to reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  Does the student know their letters and sounds?  Does a student know how to sound out basic words?  Can a student speak or write in a complete sentence?  Can a student follow multi-step directions?  Is a student able to respond to text?  A great deal of this knowledge comes from student observation and conferring with students. When we have skilled educators who understand the continuum of literacy and math instruction in our classrooms, student engagement increases and many of the other issues facing our classrooms decrease.

When thinking about how this pertains to our state's educational strategic five-year plan, public feedback is essential.  There are still eight sessions available to attend across our state in the next month, and this is the opportunity to let your voice be heard.  It’s time to get back to the basics of core academics.