On July 1, Cheryl Logan begins her tenure as superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, Nebraska’s largest school district. Logan will lead 8,000 staff members and serve a student body where nearly 16 percent are ELL and 75 percent qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Logan also faces a $15.8 million budget shortfall, the result of an underfunded pension system.
Principal Todd Schafer of Shelby County Schools says he will pay $100 out of his own pocket to parents whose children attain perfect attendance at Tennessee’s Scenic Hills Elementary. State law mandates that parents can face up to a $50 fine or 10 days in jail time for student truancy. Fifty parents went to court last year as a result.
For the last six years, Superintendent Lonny Lemon of Illinois has delivered thousands of discarded pencils to a needy school in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Oak Grove Elementary District 68 leader is now raising $25,000 so he can donate 400 desks to the Mexican school. He and his wife will contribute $1,000.
Administrator in Charge of Special Projects Olivia Leschick has developed after-school, health career pathway and career technical education programs at Valley Center-Pauma USD after winning a number of grants. Leschick has subsequently received the Association of California School Administrators’ Central Office Administrator of the Year award for her work.
