Welcome to Lincoln Consolidated Schools

Community Message - September 22

Dear Lincoln Family,

I hope you and your family are doing well.

As we are in the fourth week of school, a quick thank you for all of your support. It’s so wonderful seeing kids back on campus and all of the excitement for learning. 

Like many industries we are extremely short staffed in a few departments. I’m so thankful for all the patience, flexibility and understanding as we work through some of our shortages. Our amazing staff has done a remarkable job of supporting each other as we work to fill vacancies. We are committed to keeping your kids safe, helping them meet their potential and having some fun along the way. If you know of anyone who could help, please share the following information: Employment Opportunities - Human Resources - District. Lincoln is an amazing place to work with the best kids in the world. Please join us in our mission to make a positive difference in the lives of others. 

Our kids have been through a great deal in the last few years. We need to continue to partner together now more than ever to keep our school community as a safe haven for our children. Let’s continue to model kindness, compassion and love.

Covid has taken a toll on our amazing staff, like many other professions. Along with teaching and learning, our school staff are being asked to take on even more. Please join me in showing your appreciation, when you have an opportunity.  I promise, by all of us working TOGETHER, supporting each other, by uplifting each other, we will get through this time and we will excel!! Let’s make our community one that others look to as a shining example of positivity.

Some great news!! Thanks to the forward thinking of our school board, finance department, and partners from Stifel, we were able to refinance our community bonds and saved our local taxpayers $1.85 million off the end of the bond. As we conclude the 2018 bond we are excited to begin showcasing final projects. Please see on our website https://www.lincolnk12.org/our-district/2018-bond/.

We’re excited to be celebrating Lincoln Homecoming on Friday, October 1st!  We would like to invite you to tour the new Lincoln Athletic Building prior to the Lincoln Homecoming Game. The LAB will be open from 4-6pm for visitors to check out the facility.

Join us in celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, when we recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate the group’s heritage and culture 

We are proud to be presenting the Black History 101 Mobile Museum on September 28 & 29. Secondary students will visit the exhibit during the school day and the free 20 minute exhibit will be open to all families from 4:00 - 5:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center. Founded by Dr. Khalid El-Hakim, the Black History Mobile Museum is an award winning collection of original artifacts of Black memorabilia dating from the trans-Atlantic slave trade era to hop-hop culture. For more information on the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, please visit: blackhistorymobilemuseum.com

Please look for a follow up communication regarding Covid updates in a separate communication.

Thank you for the great honor to serve you and your amazing children.

Robert Jansen
Superintendent

3-Tier School Schedule FAQ

At last Monday's board meeting, the board approved the 3 tier start times. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide community feedback on the three-tier proposal. We’ve put together a document of FAQ’s to address the questions and concerns that were raised.

FAQ on Three-Tier School Schedule

What time will my student be starting school? 

        *LMS and Childs students will ride separate buses.

I have children at different buildings that will now be on different tiers. It would be more convenient for my kids to ride the same bus and start/end the day together.

While we completely understand the desire of families to have their children riding the same bus and/or starting at the same time, we have a significant shortage of bus drivers. We need to change our start times for our schools so that we can safely and efficiently transport our district children to and from school. 

High School start times are too early. Research shows that older children need to start later, not earlier. 

We are aware of the research showing later start times are optimal for teens and older students. However, for our families who rely on the older students to provide after-school care, we need to have our older students released earlier so they’re home to be caregivers of their younger siblings. Also, for every minute that we push back the start of school in the morning we have to add to the end of the school day for elementary students, which will push their return home later in the  evening.

The three elementary schools should be on the same tier with Model students on a separate tier. 

In order to reduce the number of buses needed for each tier to a number that can be met by our transportation department, we need to move one of the elementary schools to a separate tier. We considered each building and found that the one that allowed for the most efficiency was Childs Elementary. This is because Childs would already have a staggered start time from any of the other schools. 

Model students need to be included on the third tier because there are limits to the number of preschool students who can ride a bus without additional adult assistance being required. By including them on a bus with elementary students, we are able to transport those students without adding additional adult support to those buses. The staffing shortage would be made worse, not better by moving Model to a separate tier. 

Families with students on different tiers will either need to return to campus multiple times or wait around to pick up/drop off their students.

We understand that there are challenges for families who have students on separate tiers. We are working to identify before and after school opportunities that will help families with this issue. 

There will be too big of a break between the end of the day and the start of athletic/extracurricular activities. What are students supposed to do?  Will they be supervised? 

We are working to identify before and after school opportunities that will help with this issue. In some cases, students that participate in athletics have been getting out of school during their 5th and 6th hours. This plan will eliminate or minimize the loss of education hours while still completing the athletic event.

How are working parents supposed to get to work on time with the later start times?

We understand the challenge the new start times may have for families. We are providing advance notice of the change to three tier with the new school times so that families have time to make arrangements for childcare and transportation before the start of school. 

Parents/Guardians:

Please review this short list each morning before your child leaves for school. This is for home use. You DO NOT need to turn into your school. 

COVID-19 Daily At Home Screening for Students

Volunteers/ Building Access 

District visitors, including parents/guardians, will only be able to enter buildings by appointment only. The District has to limit visitors to the buildings, and as a result, visitors and volunteers will only be permitted when necessary. 

Following these procedures will ensure the safety of all of our children. 

We are following the CDC/health department color system, the current protocol level/color will be determined and communicated by the district.

Thank you!