Dr. Danielle Buhrman addresses the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education about a pilot math program in four elementary schools for the 2025-2026 school year, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education voted 7-0 April 10 to purchase curriculum items for a pilot math program at four elementary schools for the 2025-2026 school year.
Board of Education members Lisa Albers and Donna Douglass were absent from the April 10 meeting.
The cost of the materials is not to exceed $95,000. It includes $43,090.52 for Amplify Desmos Math, $37,107.71 for Eureka2 math, and $11,217.28 for professional learning, which totals $91,411.
Dr. Danielle Buhrman is the L4L (Leading for Learning) Curriculum Coordinator for the district. In a memo to the Board of Education, she wrote that the district has been using Origo Stepping Stones, which was adopted in the 2019-2020 school year for a seven-year cycle. Various stakeholders who have met over the last seven months agreed that a new math resource was needed.
Approval was sought to purchase student materials, teacher guides, digital access, and classroom manipulative kits needed to implement the pilot of Amplify Desmos Math and Eureka2 within four elementary schools. Amplify Desmos Math will be used at Stolley Park Elementary School, in the Grades 2-5 Newcomer Program at Stolley Park, and Starr Elementary School. Eureka2 will be used at Lincoln Elementary School and Newell Elementary School. All teachers will receive professional development.
“The pilot process will involve approximately 1,350 students from two Title and two non-Title buildings,” Buhrman wrote.
She said that approval was being sought to purchase the materials so that teachers and others could begin studying them.
In another matter, Christine Ostermeyer, Families in Transition coordinator, gave a presentation about the program, which serves approximately 348 students who have “unstable housing.” Of that number, 45 students do not live with a legal guardian. The students served attend schools across the district.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures educational stability for students experiencing homelessness. The Act defines homeless as students lacking fixed, regular, or adequate housing. Students are identified by staff, who have received an overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Students receive services such as case management and transportation. The stability the program provides impacts students “now and in the future.”
Goals of the program include reducing the stigma of being homeless, educating and training staff, and developing community partnerships.
Ostermeyer said that approximately 65 percent of the students in the program also receive English Learner services. She said that the number of students in the program is approximately the same as a year ago. One of the biggest barriers for the students and their families is access to affordable housing.
The Grand Island Education Association is sponsoring a retirement celebration starting at 4 p.m. May 7 at Balz Reception Hall, 213 N. Sycamore Street. There will be a social time from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., followed by a dinner and presentation that begins at 4:30 p.m. Reservations for the event may be made by contacting Karma Lewandowski with Grand Island Public Schools at kllewandowski@gips.org.
