Additional staff to help with Omaha school discipline issue

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Staff members said progress is slowly happening at an Omaha middle school dealing with unruly and sometimes violent student behavior this school year.

Nathan Hale Magnet Middle School held its second meeting Monday to update parents about steps being taken to address the behavioral issues. Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Mark Evans told parents that additional staff members would be sent to the school, including a social worker, a new dean of students and a special education supervisor.

Parents were also informed of new mentoring opportunities for students, the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/2hDzihc ) reported.

“We’ve got a lot of community groups coming in and working with our students,” school principal Darin Williams said. “That’s giving the extra incentive or extra encouragement they need. I believe it takes all of us to get that positive message to these students.”

Overwhelmed teachers had asked the school district to provide help, saying students were roaming the halls, being disrespectful and starting fights. Teachers have received additional training on classroom management and using technology to raise student engagement.

Nathan Hale’s enrollment almost doubled this year, after several OPS middle schools added sixth-graders as a part of the district’s initiative to create sixth- to eighth-grade middle schools.

Several parents continued to voice concerns at the meeting on Monday, with one saying kids continue to be disrespectful while a mother is concerned when her son is kicked out of his special education class.

“I do everything I can to keep this child on track,” the mother said. “Sometimes I feel like the teachers don’t put forth 100 percent of the effort they could.”

National consulting group Visionary Leaders Institute’s founder, Ako Kambon, has been working with the school and said while staff wants to keep students in class, they will not tolerate cursing and disrespect.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com