Lincoln South Rotary Club's speaker on August 19, 2022 was Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Paul Gausman. He asks for our help - complete a 3-question survey at bit.ly/LPSinput (case sensitive). Name not needed but you can provide it and an email if you want.
Paul Gausman joined us on the 5th day of the first week of the school year. He shared his background and humorous stories while assuring us that he is serious about his job and well-qualified to lead us into the future.
Born in Fremont Nebraska he shared that Lincoln was always a special place to him and he knew he would end up there eventually in his career. They knew Lincoln as a place to go for sports and the arts and those were influences in his life. Their family has held season tickets to Nebraska Football since 1951. He shared that his father was a high jumper and once beat Wilt Chamberlain.
Calling it the "Paul and Suzi Excellent Adventure" he talked about how they moved and changed in their careers while both still worked on advance degrees. Suzi is the Director of Compliance for the Bryan Health Systems.
During the last two years while working on his bachelors degree, Paul was able to work with the UNL Marching Band coordinating the drumline. He became the band director in Wisner-Pilger schools until he became one of 3 band directors at Lincoln Northeast High School. After that he was at Millard West for 5 years. They then went to Sioux Falls where he as in the Central Office as coordinator of fine and performing arts and then as the coordinator of middle school education.
He always like Sioux City - the community and all of the people and was excited to step into leadership in that school system of 13,000. Serving as superintendent there for 14 years, he was recognized for his leadership with awards and accolades.
One of the things he likes about Lincoln is that we have one town - one school district. He compared it to a number of communities where growth takes the wealthiest people farther and farther away from the city center. As those neighborhoods get established they become suburbs that split the school away from the city. There is the perception that those schools are better. In Lincoln all schools get the same resources and support. Again - One Town - One School.
Serving 42,372 (as of 8-18) students, there are about 50% considered to be in poverty. The numbers are tracked based on the number of students getting free and reduced lunches. The tracking stopped during COVID because of the population taking advantage of that lunch program. But, ,tracking is ramping back up.
There are 134 home languages spoken in the Lincoln Public Schools.
Paul pointed out that there is a high percentage of students compared to other school systems that use special services. He said it is not because we have a higher percentage of special needs students, but because we provide programming that attracts them.
He feels it is a blessing to serve this diverse population - poverty, special needs and those learning new languages.
Paul indicated that, though there are a number of civil rights issues, he feels it is most important to equalize those in poverty. If we can provide the mentorship and support to all students we will see more success.
He talked about the focus programs such as Science, Zoo School and the newly opened Bryan Medical Program. Through these programs, the students still learn math, science, social studies, etc. but they learn it from the perspective of that school focus. So, they know why they are learning each of the topics and will be equipped to apply that when thy move into their careers.
His job - to make sure that when kids graduate, they have a plan.
For this first year, his goal is to build relationships and learn about Lincoln Public Schools. For that he asks our help. Since is not able to interview each of us he asks us to complete a 3-question survey (name is not needed - but you can provide if you want). Complete the survey at bit.ly/LPSinput (case sensitive).
BIO
Gausman has been the superintendent for Sioux City Community School District since 2014, during which time the school district has seen significant gains in academic achievement and the graduation rate. In December 2021, he was elected by superintendents from across the nation to serve as president of the Urban Superintendents Association of America. During his tenure, Gausman was named a 2018 finalist for National Superintendent of the Year by the National Association of School Superintendents, and Iowa Superintendent of the Year in 2014. Sioux City Community School District was twice named a District of Distinction by District Administration Magazine – first in 2015 for its Preschool Initiative and again in 2019 for the school district’s work on the Sioux City Career Academy. Under Guasman’s leadership, Sioux City Community School District was also identified as one of the 100 original Future Ready Districts in the nation and a Next Generation High School District by the United States Department of Education and the White House. Gausman stepped into the national spotlight through the documentary “Bully,” which was presented to the White House in 2012 and highlights Gausman’s ongoing work on school safety through school bullying and cyberbullying prevention efforts.
Prior to joining the Sioux City Community School District, Gausman was superintendent for the West Central School District in South Dakota from 2005-2008. Before Sioux City, he served at Sioux Falls School District from 2000-2004, first as coordinator of fine and performing arts and then as the coordinator of middle school education. He also served as director of bands at Millard West High School in Omaha, Associate Director of Bands at Lincoln Northeast High School, and Director of Bands at Wisner-Pilger Public Schools.
Gausman holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul; an education specialist degree in educational leadership from the University of Sioux Falls; a master of science degree in educational administration and supervision from the University of Nebraska at Omaha; and a bachelor of music education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.