Navigating the educator certification process can feel overwhelming, but Nebraska’s Educator Certification team is working to change that! In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we sit down with Katelyn Larsen, Director of Educator Certification, and Molly Barnett, Assistant Director, to discuss how their team at the Nebraska Department of Education is improving communication, streamlining processes, and enhancing support for teachers and school leaders across the state.
Listen in to learn about key updates, resources, and proactive steps educators can take to ensure a smooth certification or renewal process. Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or district leader, this conversation offers valuable insights into Nebraska’s evolving approach to educator certification.
This special episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast explores the latest initiatives supporting world language education in Nebraska! Dr. Chrystal Liu, a World Language Specialist at NDE, and Dr. Nick Ziegler, a World Language Coordinator at ESU 5, join the pod to share some exciting updates, including competency-based crediting, the Seal of Biliteracy, and the new high-ability learner identification for world languages.
The episode also highlights Nebraska World Language Week 2024, an exciting statewide celebration happening February 17–23. Chrystal and Nick discuss the daily language themes, live student engagement activities, educator webinars, and the special collaboration with the Embassy of Spain, connecting Nebraska students with the global language community.
Listen to learn how students, educators, and families can participate, celebrate, and advocate for world language learning in Nebraska!
Kick off the new year with this insightful solo episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast! Host Andrew Easton explores the latest advancements in AI technology from OpenAI’s “12 Days of OpenAI” and updates within Google’s Notebook LM. Dive into the transformative potential of these tools for education, from enhancing lesson planning and student engagement to supporting professional learning and legislative bill analysis.
Through an innovative demonstration of Notebook LM’s new interactive audio overview features, this episode provides practical applications and thought-provoking ideas to inspire your educational journey in 2025.
In this episode, we reconnect with the Nebraska SEED Team—Dr. Julie Downing, Jeff Gilbertson, and Dr. Ryan Ricenbaw—to explore their ongoing commitment to supporting leadership and learning across the state. The team shares insights into their work, which centers on moving from a compliance-driven mindset to a focus on growth and development, all while fostering collective efficacy and effective leadership in Nebraska schools.
Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on how the SEED Team leverages change theory, strategic leadership, and shared leadership to create impactful learning environments.
In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we spotlight the JAG Nebraska (Jobs for America’s Graduates) effort and its mission to prepare students for the future. We’re joined by Jessica Hedlund, JAG Nebraska’s Senior Expansion and Onboarding Manager, and Brock Paul, a JAG student leader at Tekamah-Herman Community Schools and the Nebraska State Vice President, to discuss how this transformative program is equipping students with the skills and leadership experiences needed for lifelong success.
Jessi and Brock share insights into the program’s trauma-informed approach, project-based learning curriculum, and employer engagement initiatives, which are driving workforce readiness and leadership development in the JAG students. From fostering communication and soft skills to creating real-world connections with employers, this conversation highlights the statewide impact of JAG.
To learn more about JAG Nebraska, visit, JAG Homepage
In this episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we dive into how Elm Creek Elementary is using High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) to transform the learning experience in science for their students. Elm Creek Elementary principal Terah Williams and 4th-6th grade science teacher Katie Holland join Dianah Steinbrink of ESU 10 to share their journey with implementing PhD Science. Throughout the episode, listeners will learn how hands-on learning, inquiry-based models, and innovative teaching practices are engaging students in authentic scientific thinking.
Whether you’re an educator looking to enhance your science instruction or are simply curious about new teaching methods, this episode is packed with insights and practical takeaways.
To access the Nebraska Department of Education’s repository of formative tasks for grades 5-8, visit the Science Classroom Formative Task Repository. This is password protected repository, contact NDE for access information.
To learn more about the science support and upcoming science-related events hosted by ESU 10, reach out to ESU 10: Dianah Steinbrink
This K-12 school team training will help your school form or enhance the team that will focus on identifying, assessing and managing the risk/threat of violence posed by students, staff, and community members toward the school community.
Schools are encouraged to participate with a team of at least 4 members (e.g., administrators, faculty/staff, security or law enforcement partner, and mental health partner). Teams will leave the workshop with sample protocols to adapt for use in their school environment.
This reimbursement opportunity is grant funded and intended to support attendance for approved Threat Assessment Trainings. The district can be reimbursed for hotel, sub, mileage, etc. for up to five team members.
Prerequisite: Need to have taken Threat Assessment – Level I Training
During this one-day training, participants will explore practical threat management strategies for use in school settings. Different interventions will be discussed that are appropriate for use with students or adults/staff.
Effective interventions are built on good information and feedback that can be difficult to obtain due to privacy or legal barriers. Training will include strategies for addressing these barriers.
Participants will enhance their ability to obtain good information via interactions with subjects, witnesses, and targets by enhanced elicitation skill building activities.
Recently, there have been an increasing number of discussions in Nebraska regarding interlocal agreements amongst various organizations and government-funded institutions. To bring clarity to this conversation, the ESU Coordinating Council is sharing the following message to inform Nebraskans on (1) what an interlocal agreement entails and (2) how the ESUCC’s Cooperative Purchasing efforts leverage interlocal agreements to bring millions of dollars in cost-savings benefits to our municipalities and the education community statewide.
What is an interlocal agreement?
An interlocal agreement is a legal agreement between two or more public agencies, including a county, city, village, an agency of the state government, ESUs, or school districts, to cooperate on specific projects or services.
In other words, there are times when a project of service requires coordination and cooperation between multiple jurisdictions, and in those instances, it can make sense to combine resources and expertise to achieve common goals. It’s people working collectively to accomplish goals that they would not be able to achieve as efficiently and/or as cost-effectively without working together.
How does it work?
There are some purchases that are essential expenses for virtually every school district. Things like paper and cleaning supplies might be among the first things that come to mind. But if you consider things like classroom furniture, playground equipment, one-to-one technology – both hardware and software, scoreboards for gyms and fields – the list quickly becomes extensive!
This is where the ESUCC’s Cooperative Purchasing through interlocal agreements helps save districts time and money. Coop Purchasing solicits and negotiates with various vendors on the collective behalf of member districts/entities. As such, districts do not have to spend time with the bidding/negotiating process and can instead focus their efforts on their students, teachers, and learning. Furthermore, by streamlining the collective buying power through a single contract, Nebraska schools can essentially buy in bulk and volume, which lowers the cost of each and every one of these essential items.
What is the extent of these savings?
In the 2021-2022 school year alone, the ESUCC saved Nebraska schools $6.7 million dollars through cooperative purchasing. And over the past five school years, the total is $28.8 million. In this way, interlocal agreements empower school districts across Nebraska to work with the ESUCC to save time, personnel, and monetary resources, together.
