Schools in Omaha NE Andrea Mc Call Makayla

Schools in Omaha, NE Andrea Mc. Call Makayla Kriley Brandon Karimi

Intro paragraph One of the most influential people to children, besides their parents, are teachers and the school system they live in. From the very beginning of a child’s life, we are constantly trying to test them, to make them improve, and to push them to socialize with others. This is exactly what schools are made for. The average American knows of two types of school systems: public and private. We have put together the most important knowledge of each of these school systems, stating the similarities and differences of these school systems, and pulling out the sociological aspects of these school systems.

School locations • School locations will definitely play a factor into who attends the school • Public school tend to be in the suburban area • Income in the area of public schools is at an average of $55, 000 per household • Private schools tend to be more inner-city • Income in the area tend to be around $48, 000 per household • This is a major factor in distribution on races and income

Why does this matter? ■ Think about the area that you live in or areas that you have lived in in the past – – – What was your socioeconomic status? What types of places did you live near? How did you interact with your neighbors? ■ It is these factors that also determine the placement of schools, whether public or private, and how efficiently these schools run ■ Now, think about the area that you live in and also relate it to the school environment ■ The next several slides will demonstrate how many different factors such as location, income, and age can all have huge impacts on how the school functions

Omaha School District Stats School District Number of Schools Number of students (2013 -14 school year) Number of teachers (2013 -14 school year) Student/ Teacher Ratio Number of ELL* students Number of students with an IEP** Omaha Public School District 105 51, 069 3, 147. 01 15. 71/1 6, 988 9, 412 Millard Public School District 37 23, 549 1, 498. 66 16. 23/1 288 3, 042 Ralston 8 3, 111 210. 90 14. 75/1 177 *Public English Language Learner- English as a second language School ** Individualized Education Program- to meet a child’s individual needs (special education) District 428

OPS District Boundaries • Covers large area of Omaha • As follows (relative) • North of Cornhusker until slightly north of Highway 36 • East of 168 th St. until it hits the Missouri River

Omaha Public School District • Need for minority teachers • Program through UNO to try to encourage more minority students to become teachers • Program began in 1985 • 90% of interns who complete the program continue to teach in OPS • Teachers are one of the most important influences in students’ lives • Omaha needs more minority teachers as role models for students

OPS District Graduation Rates 2003 -2014 • OPS graduation rate has increased approximately 17% in the last 10 years. This could be due to the increasing standard of higher education. More people than ever before are graduating high school and going to college.

OPS Ne. SA Scores • Ne. SA scores in OPS have been increasing in every subject the last 3 -4 years. They are drastically improving in mathematics and science, despite scoring low in them compared to reading. Reading hasn’t improved much but they already scored generally well on it to begin with.

MPSDistrict Boundaries • Slightly broken • As follows (relative) • North of Cornhusker Rd. until slightly north of Blondo • West of 96 th St. until 204 th St. • Broken pieces in the Gretna area

Millard Public School District • Millard Central Middle School • Located at 128 th and L St. • Grades 6 -8 • The only middle school that offers a Montessori program in Millard • Which is a child- centered educational approach • Offers ELL • Offers special education specific classes • CMS focuses on family connections • Look at the CMS homepage, they post their Facebook account to get parents interacted with them

MPS Community Education Statistics No High School 918 Some High School 2, 434 Some College 24, 357 Associate Degree 7, 886 Bachelor's Degree 31, 489 Graduate Degree 15, 094 • The majority of MPS students families have at least some college education if not a degree. This is most likely due to the proximity of the schools to middle class housing.

MPS Community Marital Status Never Married 28, 989 Married 61, 769 Separated 2, 932 Widowed 1, 479 Divorced 7, 738 • The surprising number here is definitely the rate of divorce. The national average for divorce is about 50%. The vast majority of marriages in MPS district are still together.

MPS Household income Median Income Under 25 $38, 696 Median Income 25 -44 $64, 043 Median Income 45 -64 $85, 415 Median Income Over 65 $59, 802 • The statistics here show that income increases the older you get until you’re over age 65.

MPS Average Income Average Household Income $80, 416 Median Household Income $70, 475 Average Household Net Worth $534, 668 Median Home Sale Price $145, 000 Average Household Total Expenditure $60, 235 • MPS income shows that the families are in the middle class.

Ralston Public School District Boundaries • Small area • As follows (relative) • North of Harrison St. until ‘F’ St. • West of 60 thth St. until 108 th St.

Ralston’s Sex and Age Male Female Under 5 Years 5 to 9 years 10 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 18 to 19 years • The 644 639 674 428 311 Under 5 Years 5 to 9 years 10 to 14 years 15 to 17 years 18 to 19 years 616 592 601 409 338 number of children in a certain age group are similar for both male and female.

Ralston’s Tenure and Household relationships Total Population in Households 21, 172 In Family Households 15, 430 Householder 5, 111 Male 3, 774 Female 1, 337 Total Occupied Housing Units 9, 547 Owner Occupied Housing Units 4, 138 Renter Occupied Housing Units 5, 409 • More families in Ralston are renting their houses instead of owning it. This usually indicates that the families here are more likely to be lower middle class because they can’t afford to own their own house.

Communities 2000 census School District Total Race: number of white residents under 18 Race: Black/Afri can American Race: Asian Race: Native Indian Race: Hawaiian/ Islands Race: Other Omaha Public Schools 83, 865 53, 974 18, 578 1, 160 861 49 5, 635 Millard Public Schools 30, 232 28, 252 481 498 84 12 245 Ralston Public Schools 4, 603 4, 011 132 108 26 2 187

By looking at the previous slide, we can note that… • Omaha Public Schools are the most diverse in race/culture • 86% of Nebraska are Caucasian • Omaha is one of the top 50 most segregated cities in the entire country • We can also see from previous slides that the Ralston area has more rented homes than owned homes. • This says something about their family income in that area.

■ Another type of schooling system is Public school – – This is a private institution that often time requires tuition payments They may also require some type of uniform which would be more strict than a public schools “dress code” ■ It is important to keep in mind that many private schools are built in lower income areas, which will shown in the upcoming slides ■ There is a constant debate between private and public schools and if one is better than the other or if private schools are really worth the money. We will let you decide as we talk about religious affiliations, financial aspects, and health of the students.

Private Schools in Omaha • There are private schools within both Millard and Omaha school districts • 92% of private schools have religious affiliates • 79% are Catholic • Probably think of • • • Skutt Catholic Creighton Prep Marian St. Stephens Mercy Gross Catholic

Private schools • Higher minority community • Look at location of schools on next slide • There is a 14: 1 student/ teacher ratio • Admission requirements • Person interviews (85%) • Academic record (75%) • Recommendations (59%) • Very few use standardized tests • Private school enrollment decreases when progressing through high school

Private School Locations • V. J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School • Marian High School • St. Stephen the Martyr • Mercy High School 156 th • and West Center Rd (West Omaha) • 168 th and Q St. (West Omaha) • Creighton Prep • 74 th and Western Ave (between Cass and Blondo) (North Omaha) • 74 th and Military (North Omaha) • 48 th and Woolworth (North Omaha) • Gross Catholic High School • 43 rd and Giles (South Omaha)

• According to the 2010 census, the majority of the population in the Omaha-metro area lived in suburban communities ■ Often segregated by social class • This causes school districts to become less diverse • Omaha’s “desegregation program” • Created in 2009 by the state of Nebraska • Called a “ 2 - way program” • Allows urban students to transfer to suburban schools • Allows suburban students to transfer to urban schools

Is it all about the money? • Some say it costs more to attend public school rather than private • Over time the taxes that you pay for the school district, could add up to more than what you would pay in one lump sum for a private school tuition • One author wrote that private schools have a better connection with their community. She said, this allows for the schools to better focus on the education for their students and also can focus on getting more scholarships. • Salary can influence teacher cohesion and student achievement • Although some say that public schools, even though they don’t pay as much, may have better benefits than private school teachers • Men are said to be paid about 28% more than women in the field of education

Free/reduced lunch • In 2011, for the state of Nebraska, 43% of students had free/reduced lunches • There was a 7% increase since 2008

Public vs. Private in 2014/15 • OPS free/reduced lunch • 38, 042 students • 73. 26% of all students • MPS free/reduced lunch • 4, 263 students • 17. 99% of all students • Ralston Public Schools free/reduced lunch • 1, 718 students • 54. 04% of all students • Marian High School free/reduced lunch • 45 students • 6. 71% of all students • No other private schools had available information

Free/Reduced lunch Application (MPS) • To view the Free/Reduced lunch Application from Millard Public Schools, click here. • Under files, click on the 2015 -16 ENG app saved as a PDF

Socialness vs. Academics • One article stated that social competence is directly related to academic achievement • The following was what was discovered by the study • Children in public schools scored better on social competence • Children in private schools achieved higher scores on academics, but if they scored highly on academics they would tend to score low on social competence

Health • In private schools, they have more physical activity • But public schools are said to have more weekly walking times • There is more obesity seen in private schools than public schools • This may make you question where your child’s tuition money is really going

New Generation ■ In the recent years, there has been a lot of talk about sexuality and sexuality rights – this includes the new federal law that allows legality of gay marriage ■ This is also reflected in the school system – As children get older, they explore themselves to find out what their true personality is – It is crucial that they are taught the correct information of sex education ■ Now, the word “correct” will vary from person to person, group to group, and remains to be a constant battle

Curriculum • Sex Education • October of 2015, Omaha had a public schools meeting over sex education in the new curriculum • The many views on the subject got people agreeing to or disagreeing to the sex education being taught in public schools. Over 1, 500 people attended the 45 minute meeting that still ended in a battle with no outcome. • The department of health education has already started to become involved in prenatal drug care in the Nebraska school districts.

Curriculum • Sex education • Both private and public schools were surveyed and said to have dedicated 2. 68 hours in the education of prenatal drug care in a variety of courses • However, there is a problem with the lack of knowledge that teachers have on this subject; this may cause many to question the quality of education in Nebraska school districts. • Although, many school districts, like Omaha public schools, have done high strides into improving all types of education in their schools.

Omaha’s push to better education • Omaha Public schools did a 1 -year program from 1999 to 2000 that has helped develop children’s skills in reading and writing. • It was funded by a grant from the Department of Education Readings of America Challenge. • gave Omaha Public Schools tutors for reading and writing. • The goal was to have these work study students being tutors to improve the basic reading skills of students • With 120 volunteers plus other student volunteers, a total of 221 volunteers were trained to be tutors • Analyzing this study, we can see the improvement in teacher jobs along with help for students.

Why is Sex Education important? Why is Education in Schools a Debate? ■ This is an important topic because it shows the many opinions on how to better our society or worsen it. It shows different types of cultural beliefs and moral beliefs. ■ This is a debate due to this being a fight for what parents and teachers want. ■ Parents may want certain things to be taught to their children. ■ Teachers may want to teach things they feel kids should know.

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