As reported by Margaret Reist A group of organizations that champion education and children have come together to encourage policymakers to invest in early childhood education, after-school programs, school nutrition and career education efforts. The Nebraska Education Collaboration includes 13 organizations and state agencies that already advocate for such programs, but hope to be more effective by working together. “Basically the purpose of the collaboration is to use and leverage each other’s expertise,” said Ann Hunter-Pirtle, executive director of Stand For Schools, a nonprofit organizati ..read more

As published in the Lincoln Journal Star. While the faculty, leadership and partners of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Lincoln should be commended for innovative ways of educating their diverse students (“Real school choice best for all,” Sept. 25), the funding model and rationale that Bishop James Conley promotes in the editorial are problematic for several reasons. Particularly concerning is a lack of focus on the side effects of the proposed LB 295 for public schools, which, as Bishop Conley writes, “would authorize tax credits for donations to nonprofits that have the sole focus of providin ..read more

After conducting a nationwide search, Stand For Schools is thrilled to announce that Dunixi Guereca has been selected as our organization’s new Executive Director. Dunixi will officially join our Stand For Schools team in early August after making a very long commute from California, where he has most recently worked with SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and, before that, the Boy Scouts of America. He's no stranger to Nebraska, though! Dunixi studied Political Science and Government at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and the University of Nebraska – Kearney, and has previously worked w ..read more

We are deeply saddened by the recent death of Dr. Danita D. Webb, who served on the Board of Directors for Stand For Schools since 2018. Dr. Webb was a dedicated leader and a tireless advocate for public education in the Omaha community and beyond. In too short a time, she accomplished so much: After spending years in the classroom as a beloved teacher, Dr. Webb served as a mentor, as Co-Founder of the Gifted Minds Learning Center, as a School Improvement Manager to Omaha Public Schools, and as an Assistant Principal. She was particularly passionate about using research-based strategies and sm ..read more

Today’s passage of LB 753 marks a dark new era for schooling in Nebraska. The Legislature’s Education Committee considered proposals this year to make school lunches free, broadly prohibit discrimination, include student voices in curriculum decisions, and increase the poverty allowance in TEEOSA. But instead of improving the schools that serve 9 out of 10 children in our state, instead of addressing the needs of over 300,000 students attending Nebraska public schools, 33 senators chose today to prioritize giving tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations by sending tax dollars to unaccountabl ..read more

As reported by Olivia Wieseler Gering Public Schools entertained a few new visitors to the area on Monday, Aug. 30. Ann Hunter-Pirtle and Daniel Russell of the Lincoln-based non-profit Stand for Schools toured the district, along with State Sen. John Stinner, who saw the renovated high school for the first time. Hunter-Pirtle, executive director and founder of Stand for Schools, and Russell, deputy executive director, made the trip from Lincoln out to western Nebraska to learn of the challenges, as well as the positives, that teachers, staff and administrators at Gering faced. It’s something t ..read more

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Philadelphia, PA – Stand For Schools received national recognition at the 6th Annual Network for Public Education National Conference in Philadelphia. Earlier this week, the Nebraska nonprofit advocacy group received a standing ovation from hundreds as they were presented with the Phyllis Bush Award for Grassroots Organizing. Daniel Russell, the Interim Executive Director of Stand For Schools, said, “It’s an enormous honor to be selected from so many organizations doing really important and impressive work all around the country.” The Network for Public Education (NPE), which hosted the confer ..read more

Stand For Schools is seeking a new Executive Director and has retained Jan Glick & Associates, LLC, to facilitate the search. Interested candidates may download the Position Profile to learn more about this opportunity and how to apply ..read more

For the past few months, the Stand For Schools team has had the great privilege of working with Vanessa Chavez Jurado, a student at the University of Nebraska - Omaha, an aspiring educator, and our fall intern. Before she leaves us to begin her next semester, we asked Vanessa to share some of her thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing the next generation of teachers and education leaders. Here's what she wanted to say: I am a current BIPOC teacher candidate who grew up in a wealthier area of Omaha, and who throughout practicums has noticed the inequities in education present acro ..read more