[Music]
[Music]
yes I have over 300,000 children well I
do we all do
I have children of every race and
children that speak different languages
and I have children with special needs
and I have children with amazing gifts
frankly these children are our
responsibility when I was named
Commissioner of Education I thought oh
my goodness this job is way too big you
know oh so daunting
I thought certainly certainly I’ll have
this epiphany of where I need to go and
get this job accomplished I’m a proud
Nebraskan proud Nebraska but I’m
especially proud to be the commissioner
of education in this great state to be
cliche there is no place like Nebraska
we understand common sense Nebraska
sometimes was perceived by those outside
of this place as perhaps flyover country
or something that that really doesn’t
have anything to offer but Nebraska
because it’s my home I know it’s a place
of significant historical importance
both nationally across the world even
and frankly even though Nebraska was
once our country’s frontier where
sometimes people traveled through here
on their place to somewhere else those
who traveled through here on occasion
left us with nuggets of wisdom and those
who decided to stay here are extremely
special our reality is that we have this
opportunity in Nebraska’s it’ll reflect
on where we’ve been I want to tell you
just a little bit of a story in 1964
December 30th 1964 Martin Luther King
jr. spoke at Pershing auditorium he
spoke there just six months after the
passage of the 1964 Civil Rights
i sacked you saw Selma the reality is
it’s only a few months before the 1965
passage of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act and ultimately these are
landmarks in civil rights law for the
country now when dr. King was here he
spoke in part these words one of the
great liabilities of history is that all
too many people find themselves standing
amid a great period of social change and
yet they failed to achieve the new
attitudes the new thought patterns the
new mental outlooks that the new
situation demands Nebraska has always
been about the future the long view of
things you know frankly we’re in that
position where we have that independence
Street you know but we’re not backwards
we’re not backwards at all instead we
have a tendency to want to do things the
right way
sometimes methodically and ensure that
we move forward to get what’s best for
our next generations in the 1950s
Nebraska actually passed special a
special education system two and a half
decades before it was required by the
federal government with the individuals
with Disabilities Education Act two and
a half decades before when we’re left
her own devices we can think that far
ahead
we’ve always cared about balancing the
responsibilities of state and federal we
always have to constantly remind
ourselves that we do not adopt things in
a cookie cutter approach from other
places just because certain people
arrive in the state of Nebraska no
applause on that one our education
system is one of the most intentionally
local systems in the country and perhaps
the world we struggled for generations
to really keep it that way to make it
our system you don’t we don’t ignore the
responsibility to find our path to
improve increasingly that looks like the
right decision in modern times we didn’t
jump on that bandwagon for for common
core standards why when all these other
State student why didn’t we do that
because we refuse to abdicate our right
to set the expectations for our students
in our classrooms on a daily basis
that’s absolutely critical for anything
we understand that making decisions at
the closest level to the student makes
all of the difference and then when we
allow that to happen and we allow that
to happen with people that care about
them at that closest level that makes a
significant difference to our students
we care about equity and access and
that’s our job at the Department of
Education to be able to accomplish that
for education reform it should be clear
that the moral imperative focuses on
raising the bar and closing the gap in
student learning and achievement for all
children regardless of background if we
know we have achievement gaps we have to
do everything that we can we have to
lock arm and arm to actually help
students parents families and schools
close those achievement gaps however it
can’t be done or accomplished in schools
alone it takes all of us it takes
communities and smart investment by the
state of Nebraska to make that
difference this is really true in our
efforts in education right now across
the state of Nebraska we’re working very
hard and I feel a significant sense of
urgency to make sure that we’re closing
gaps for all of our students regardless
of their background
that’s our moral imperative but as we
examine the data and you can see here
our african-american students and our
Native American students and many others
deserve better we have to continue to
examine that data look at that that
importance of that moral imperative and
move our future populations forward our
future populations by the way won’t look
like they do today in the future we’ll
have students from varying backgrounds
and that will continue to be nearly our
majority of our students that we serve
in our schools we’re very lucky on many
many counts as well we have a graduation
percentage that is second in the
nation to Iowa and that bugs me
we have a college-going rate near the
top of the nation we do extremely well
on standardized test scores and and
other things so we we do many many
things well frankly we’re the envy of a
lot of other states I’ve often said
though we can’t simply adopt solutions
to other people’s problems we have
problems of our own we should come up
with those solutions that are going to
make a difference for our problems we
should learn from others and we
certainly do but when we take on the
challenges ourselves and own the system
that we are responsible for creating and
improving we can make a difference we
can’t waste time on other people’s
failed ideas about what education reform
happens to be we actually have to look
at what works here in Nebraska and
frankly I’ve had this opportunity to
travel around the state and see a lot of
different experiences in our schools
over the past few years and I’m
extremely proud of the work that we’ve
done in Nebraska to create a new
accountability system that we call
accountability for our quality education
system today and tomorrow a quest the
State Board and I know I got two members
one of them was my fan anyway two
members that are here the reality the
reality for us is we build that system
that we’re thoughtful about what this
next generation of accountability is
that not only is accountability
something that we are doing as a policy
but it’s something that we’re owning as
a responsibility that’s frankly why I’m
so proud of that particular work we have
to continue to pay attention we have we
have schools that in rural places with
declining enrollment that deserve
attention we have our Native American
schools that deserve our attention in
our investment we have urban schools and
we have populations of students of
racial and ethnic minorities and we have
shifting populations of students who
don’t speak English as their first
language it’s our responsibility to be
able to move that forward if we do that
we can have a world-class system that
builds on Nebraska’s history of optimism
and direction for our future I’ve been
through the state in a lot of different
places and I got to tell you just one
little story I can tell you that its
apps
critical that we pay attention to what’s
happening in our schools and one time
and I’m dr. fries ins over here I can
see one time she and I walked into Starr
elementary in Grand Island schools and
we walked in and we had this chance
ultimately to visit a school 245
students 17 different languages spoken
and we walked into Starr elementary and
there were interpreters there not for
students but for the parents so the
parents could be engaged we walked into
the principal’s office and the principal
is a bit nervous that I’m in the
building he flips us his monitor around
it shows me how he’s tracking the data
on every single one of his students
tests say I know where they are today
and what they need today we walk into
classrooms and teachers have their
instructional targets on the wall and
the students are absolutely engaged in
that learning it was amazing and then we
walked back out of that place and I
thought what that’s one of the best
schools I walked into in my life and
then I realized that’s one of our needs
improvement schools right they are doing
many of the right things that we would
expect that they’d be doing on a daily
basis in that school now in addition to
my 300,000 children my wife and I had
five children and they deserve to grow
up in a world in a state where every
student around them has every
opportunity every person around them has
every opportunity to be successful
that’s all of our job and we’re gonna
have to participate in that success now
dr. keen in 1964 went on to say these
words so many people fail to remain
awake through great revolution so I call
upon you tonight not to be spectators on
the sidelines not to be individuals who
are looking on to be involved
participants in this great struggle to
make our nation a greater nation to end
all of the evils of racial injustice
poverty the evil a war we will all be
involved participants we will be able to
speed up that day Wow
Wow we have to be involved participants
we ultimately can’t make our nation a
greater nation without all of us being
involved I call on you to help me speed
up that day I call on you to help me
speed up that day that dr. King’s dream
be realized I call on you to support the
students and that teachers and the
communities to support one another I
call on all of us to collectively be
better patrons and partners in our
efforts to improve opportunities for our
students
I ask you not to dwell on what is but
instead what could be let us be the
state that others compare themselves to
let us be the state that lives up to our
moral imperative to support education to
make our nation a greater nation we must
get used to always needing to be better
let us not strive for settling but
instead settle for striving this is
common sense for the common good there
is no place like Nebraska I am proud to
have this particular role I call on you
to help me make that dream a reality
you
[Music]
yes I have over 300,000 children well I
do we all do
I have children of every race and
children that speak different languages
and I have children with special needs
and I have children with amazing gifts
frankly these children are our
responsibility when I was named
Commissioner of Education I thought oh
my goodness this job is way too big you
know oh so daunting
I thought certainly certainly I’ll have
this epiphany of where I need to go and
get this job accomplished I’m a proud
Nebraskan proud Nebraska but I’m
especially proud to be the commissioner
of education in this great state to be
cliche there is no place like Nebraska
we understand common sense Nebraska
sometimes was perceived by those outside
of this place as perhaps flyover country
or something that that really doesn’t
have anything to offer but Nebraska
because it’s my home I know it’s a place
of significant historical importance
both nationally across the world even
and frankly even though Nebraska was
once our country’s frontier where
sometimes people traveled through here
on their place to somewhere else those
who traveled through here on occasion
left us with nuggets of wisdom and those
who decided to stay here are extremely
special our reality is that we have this
opportunity in Nebraska’s it’ll reflect
on where we’ve been I want to tell you
just a little bit of a story in 1964
December 30th 1964 Martin Luther King
jr. spoke at Pershing auditorium he
spoke there just six months after the
passage of the 1964 Civil Rights
i sacked you saw Selma the reality is
it’s only a few months before the 1965
passage of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act and ultimately these are
landmarks in civil rights law for the
country now when dr. King was here he
spoke in part these words one of the
great liabilities of history is that all
too many people find themselves standing
amid a great period of social change and
yet they failed to achieve the new
attitudes the new thought patterns the
new mental outlooks that the new
situation demands Nebraska has always
been about the future the long view of
things you know frankly we’re in that
position where we have that independence
Street you know but we’re not backwards
we’re not backwards at all instead we
have a tendency to want to do things the
right way
sometimes methodically and ensure that
we move forward to get what’s best for
our next generations in the 1950s
Nebraska actually passed special a
special education system two and a half
decades before it was required by the
federal government with the individuals
with Disabilities Education Act two and
a half decades before when we’re left
her own devices we can think that far
ahead
we’ve always cared about balancing the
responsibilities of state and federal we
always have to constantly remind
ourselves that we do not adopt things in
a cookie cutter approach from other
places just because certain people
arrive in the state of Nebraska no
applause on that one our education
system is one of the most intentionally
local systems in the country and perhaps
the world we struggled for generations
to really keep it that way to make it
our system you don’t we don’t ignore the
responsibility to find our path to
improve increasingly that looks like the
right decision in modern times we didn’t
jump on that bandwagon for for common
core standards why when all these other
State student why didn’t we do that
because we refuse to abdicate our right
to set the expectations for our students
in our classrooms on a daily basis
that’s absolutely critical for anything
we understand that making decisions at
the closest level to the student makes
all of the difference and then when we
allow that to happen and we allow that
to happen with people that care about
them at that closest level that makes a
significant difference to our students
we care about equity and access and
that’s our job at the Department of
Education to be able to accomplish that
for education reform it should be clear
that the moral imperative focuses on
raising the bar and closing the gap in
student learning and achievement for all
children regardless of background if we
know we have achievement gaps we have to
do everything that we can we have to
lock arm and arm to actually help
students parents families and schools
close those achievement gaps however it
can’t be done or accomplished in schools
alone it takes all of us it takes
communities and smart investment by the
state of Nebraska to make that
difference this is really true in our
efforts in education right now across
the state of Nebraska we’re working very
hard and I feel a significant sense of
urgency to make sure that we’re closing
gaps for all of our students regardless
of their background
that’s our moral imperative but as we
examine the data and you can see here
our african-american students and our
Native American students and many others
deserve better we have to continue to
examine that data look at that that
importance of that moral imperative and
move our future populations forward our
future populations by the way won’t look
like they do today in the future we’ll
have students from varying backgrounds
and that will continue to be nearly our
majority of our students that we serve
in our schools we’re very lucky on many
many counts as well we have a graduation
percentage that is second in the
nation to Iowa and that bugs me
we have a college-going rate near the
top of the nation we do extremely well
on standardized test scores and and
other things so we we do many many
things well frankly we’re the envy of a
lot of other states I’ve often said
though we can’t simply adopt solutions
to other people’s problems we have
problems of our own we should come up
with those solutions that are going to
make a difference for our problems we
should learn from others and we
certainly do but when we take on the
challenges ourselves and own the system
that we are responsible for creating and
improving we can make a difference we
can’t waste time on other people’s
failed ideas about what education reform
happens to be we actually have to look
at what works here in Nebraska and
frankly I’ve had this opportunity to
travel around the state and see a lot of
different experiences in our schools
over the past few years and I’m
extremely proud of the work that we’ve
done in Nebraska to create a new
accountability system that we call
accountability for our quality education
system today and tomorrow a quest the
State Board and I know I got two members
one of them was my fan anyway two
members that are here the reality the
reality for us is we build that system
that we’re thoughtful about what this
next generation of accountability is
that not only is accountability
something that we are doing as a policy
but it’s something that we’re owning as
a responsibility that’s frankly why I’m
so proud of that particular work we have
to continue to pay attention we have we
have schools that in rural places with
declining enrollment that deserve
attention we have our Native American
schools that deserve our attention in
our investment we have urban schools and
we have populations of students of
racial and ethnic minorities and we have
shifting populations of students who
don’t speak English as their first
language it’s our responsibility to be
able to move that forward if we do that
we can have a world-class system that
builds on Nebraska’s history of optimism
and direction for our future I’ve been
through the state in a lot of different
places and I got to tell you just one
little story I can tell you that its
apps
critical that we pay attention to what’s
happening in our schools and one time
and I’m dr. fries ins over here I can
see one time she and I walked into Starr
elementary in Grand Island schools and
we walked in and we had this chance
ultimately to visit a school 245
students 17 different languages spoken
and we walked into Starr elementary and
there were interpreters there not for
students but for the parents so the
parents could be engaged we walked into
the principal’s office and the principal
is a bit nervous that I’m in the
building he flips us his monitor around
it shows me how he’s tracking the data
on every single one of his students
tests say I know where they are today
and what they need today we walk into
classrooms and teachers have their
instructional targets on the wall and
the students are absolutely engaged in
that learning it was amazing and then we
walked back out of that place and I
thought what that’s one of the best
schools I walked into in my life and
then I realized that’s one of our needs
improvement schools right they are doing
many of the right things that we would
expect that they’d be doing on a daily
basis in that school now in addition to
my 300,000 children my wife and I had
five children and they deserve to grow
up in a world in a state where every
student around them has every
opportunity every person around them has
every opportunity to be successful
that’s all of our job and we’re gonna
have to participate in that success now
dr. keen in 1964 went on to say these
words so many people fail to remain
awake through great revolution so I call
upon you tonight not to be spectators on
the sidelines not to be individuals who
are looking on to be involved
participants in this great struggle to
make our nation a greater nation to end
all of the evils of racial injustice
poverty the evil a war we will all be
involved participants we will be able to
speed up that day Wow
Wow we have to be involved participants
we ultimately can’t make our nation a
greater nation without all of us being
involved I call on you to help me speed
up that day I call on you to help me
speed up that day that dr. King’s dream
be realized I call on you to support the
students and that teachers and the
communities to support one another I
call on all of us to collectively be
better patrons and partners in our
efforts to improve opportunities for our
students
I ask you not to dwell on what is but
instead what could be let us be the
state that others compare themselves to
let us be the state that lives up to our
moral imperative to support education to
make our nation a greater nation we must
get used to always needing to be better
let us not strive for settling but
instead settle for striving this is
common sense for the common good there
is no place like Nebraska I am proud to
have this particular role I call on you
to help me make that dream a reality
you
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