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Lincoln Public Schools Families,
Here are important reminders and information for Lincoln Public Schools families.
Do you have a child that will start kindergarten next year? Lincoln Public Schools is now accepting kindergarten registrations for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents of children turning five years of age on or before July 31, 2023 can register their child online now or during our optional in-person days.
When registering, you must provide:
Families who wish to have their child enroll at an LPS school outside of their attendance area should fill out a Special Attendance Permit which is available at any school or on our website. Questions about kindergarten registration should be directed to the school your child will attend.
Families can go to their neighborhood elementary school and register in person during two special days in March. Our staff will assist you with registering online and filling out the required enrollment forms. Please bring a birth certificate and immunization record for your child. Your child need not be present.
March 8, from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
or
March 9, from 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Go to lps.org and click on the red “Enroll Your Student” button. Here you will also find all the information necessary for registering, the required documents needed and answers to frequently asked questions.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who are currently enrolled in an LPS Early Childhood Program should already be signed up for kindergarten and need not register online. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school.
For children who turn five between August 1 and October 15, parents may request an assessment for their child to receive a waiver to attend school early. More information about the early entrance assessment process can be found here.
Parents who do not have access to the online registration, or wish to register their child in person, should contact their attendance area elementary school as soon as possible. Questions about kindergarten registration should also be directed to the child’s attendance area school.
For more information about kindergarten registration and assessment testing for incoming students, please go to: https://home.lps.org/studentservices/kindergarten-registration-assessment/.
Lincoln Public Schools provides a high-quality, half-day early childhood preschool program for children who reside within the Lincoln Public Schools attendance area. Our preschool program is located in many of the elementary schools across the school district. Children who are at least 3 years of age on or before July 31, 2023 and who have not yet turned five as of July 31, 2023, are eligible to apply.
Visit our website for more information, or contact earlychildhood@lps.org.
Students use the LPS Portal to access frequently used, approved, and supported Instructional Technology Tools for LPS classes. [https://lps.org/go/YXGE].
This Portal software will be updated over quarter break (March 13-17). Students will see the same tools that they see in the current portal, but will have even greater flexibility where icon arrangement and organization is concerned. Upon returning to school, teachers will support students in becoming familiar with the new portal.
Check out this quick guide on the new Portal: https://lps.org/go/p6br
Your student is invited to test drive their future at The Career Academy (TCA).
TCA is a partnership between Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College (SCC). It gives high school juniors and seniors a chance to take specific career pathways courses while earning credits from LPS and SCC!
Your scholar can choose from more than a dozen career pathways ranging from business entrepreneurship to construction– immersing themselves in the field now.
The Career Academy invites students in grades 8-11 to take the next step and explore our programming during a special open house on Sunday, March 26, 1 – 3 p.m. at 8800 O Street.
TCA is also hosting three virtual sessions before the event. To RSVP and get the link, email Josh Jones at jjones7@lps.org:
You can also contact your school’s counseling center or TCA at (402) 325-4700 for more information.
Discover more about The Career Academy by visiting its website at thecareer.academy.
Teaching children social and emotional skills helps students thrive – academically, personally and relationally.
Lincoln Public Schools uses the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum Second Step to teach these life skills for students in grades Prekindergarten through seventh.
Learning these skills is a collaboration between students, their families and educators. Visit our SEL website at https://home.lps.org/sel/ to learn more about our program, what your child is learning by grade level and discover family activities you can do at home to reinforce these lessons.
Families, we are seeing an increase of school disruptions that begin with inappropriate conversations on social media outside of school. Digital Citizenship is something we teach at Lincoln Public Schools. We encourage you to also have a conversation with your child about responsible digital citizenship to help reinforce these lessons.
We would also like to remind you that most social media user agreements (Like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok) do not allow full use of their apps for anyone under the age of 13. This means elementary and most middle school students should NOT have access or be using social media according to these apps and their terms of service.
For more and tips about social media use, you can visit these resources:
Families can now view a recording of last month’s Community Awareness Event – Digital Citizenship: Cyberbullying, Sexting, and Internet Safety. This recording will be available until March 5.
About the presentation:
Karen Haase is an attorney at KSB School Law. During this presentation, she discusses cyberbullying, sexting, and internet safety. Haase uses humor, statistics, summaries of real-life cases, and discusses the real-life consequences attached to the inappropriate use of social media. She also presents frightening results that students who ignore internet safety have faced.
Lincoln Public Schools partners with School Community Intervention and Prevention (SCIP) and Region V Systems to bring you a Community Awareness Event every school year.
Is your child looking for a job or other extended learning opportunity? Students can use their Chromebook or LPS Student Portal account to check out our electronic bulletin board by going to lps.org and typing in the keyword “JELO”. (Students must be logged in to their LPS Student Portal to view the board.)
Students in grades 6-12 will find information about a wide variety of opportunities available. This includes activities, camps, jobs and internships. We update the board every Wednesday afternoon.
If so, please enter the information about your program/opportunity here: www.bit.ly/stujobslps.
Once you submit the information on the form, we will review it to ensure that it fits with our Board policies and regulations before we post it to the electronic bulletin board. Once an opportunity is posted, students in all middle and high schools are easily able to access the information. Please note: anyone outside of the LPS network or without LPS Portal access will not be able to access the eBulletin board.
Each month LPS publishes Community News in an effort to help share family-friendly community events and activities from non-profit organizations. Check out the March edition preview of Community News online.
Are you part of a community non-profit organization that wants to share your information with LPS families? Reserve your ad space in our Community News! Learn more on our webpage: lps.org/communitynews.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people age 10-24. Awareness is important so we can all work towards prevention. This can be a hard topic but these uncomfortable conversations are valuable. Talking about suicide does not increase the chances it will occur, in fact putting light on it helps a struggling individual feel supported.
It’s really important if you or your child are not feeling well in any way to reach out for help. Our Signs of Suicide curriculum teaches students to use the ACT process when they or someone they know is struggling. ACT stands for Acknowledge (listen to your friend, don’t ignore threats), Care (let your friend know your care), and Tell (tell a trusted adult that you are worried about your friend).
School counselors, social workers, and psychologists are available at school and there are resources below that can be accessed anytime of the day or night. We never want anyone to believe that suicide is the only option.
It is important for families to know that there are steps you can take to help reduce the risk of suicide. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center provides the following recommendations for families:
Reducing access to lethal means – in particular, medications or weapons – saves lives. Some of these are general household health and safety precautions should be used regardless of suicide risk. Examples include limiting access to medications (prescription and over the counter) and storing weapons safely when not in use (American Academy of Pediatrics – healthychildren.org).
If you are concerned about yourself or a family member, these resources are available to help anytime of the day or night, any day of the year.
Lincoln Public Schools is the second largest public school district in Nebraska, located in the heart of the plains, renowned for its long-standing legacy of educational excellence and tradition of rigorous academic achievement. The school district is growing and thriving, serving over 42,000 students in more than 60 schools and programs.
Lincoln Public Schools is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all persons, including people with disabilities. Learn more
