Lincoln Public Schools is beginning the 2026–27 school year with enrollment near 42,000 students, its teaching positions largely filled, and new efforts underway to address special-education staffing, chronic absenteeism, and the use of artificial intelligence.
LPS Superintendent Dr. John Skretta discussed the district’s priorities Wednesday during an interview on KLIN’s “Drive Time Lincoln.” The district opened the year with a transition day for kindergartners, sixth graders and ninth graders. All other K-12 students return Thursday, Aug. 13.
Skretta said the transition-day format, now in its second year, allows school employees to concentrate on students entering a new level of the district. “It gives us an opportunity to bring all hands on deck and support that entering grade-level cohort,”
Skretta said. The day helps students learn building procedures, establish routines and become familiar with their new surroundings before the remaining students arrive. Skretta visited Belmont Elementary School Wednesday morning, where he observed six kindergarten sections beginning the year.
Bus drivers remain in short supply
While LPS is beginning the year close to fully staffed in its certified teaching positions, Skretta said the transportation department remains approximately two dozen drivers below its preferred staffing level.
LPS transports nearly 5,000 students on approximately 127 daily routes. Its transportation system logs more than 1.8 million miles during a school year when regular routes and student activity trips are combined.
Skretta visited the district’s transportation headquarters before dawn Wednesday to thank drivers and other transportation employees.
The superintendent said LPS is also continuing to recruit employees for nighttime custodial positions, nutrition services and special-education and early-childhood special-education paraprofessional jobs.
“They do amazing work,” Skretta said of the paraprofessionals. “They’re right there in the classroom, intervening and supporting our classroom teachers.”
The district welcomed 264 educators who are new to LPS this year. That number includes first-year teachers and experienced educators joining the district from other school systems.
Incentives target critical staffing needs
Skretta credited a new two-year agreement with the Lincoln Education Association for helping the district strengthen its recruiting and retention efforts.
The agreement provides an additional step on the salary schedule for special-education teachers and includes longevity stipends intended to retain employees in an area Skretta described as a persistent staffing challenge.
LPS has also reached agreements covering other difficult-to-fill positions, including school psychologists and speech-language pathologists.
Substitute teaching remains another area requiring continued attention. Skretta said the district has added stipends for some hard-to-fill substitute assignments and is reviewing how it fills long-term substitute positions.
Enrollment remains near 42,000
Preliminary enrollment projections place the district at approximately 42,000 students—close to its enrollment during the previous school year.
LPS families speak more than 100 native languages, according to Skretta. He said that diversity reflects Lincoln’s history as a refugee resettlement community and increases the importance of English-language learning services.
Academic indicators highlighted by Skretta include district ACT scores, which he said continue to exceed state and national averages on the individual subject tests and composite score.
LPS also monitors student participation in honors and differentiated courses, along with enrollment in dual-credit and career-focused programs.
Career Academy enrollment tops 800
More than 800 juniors and seniors are expected to attend The Career Academy during the school year. Students remain enrolled at their home high schools while taking classes at the Career Academy in areas including construction, welding, education, early childhood education, culinary arts, computer programming and networking.
Other career and dual-credit partnerships operate within individual high schools.
Standing Bear High School’s business focus program works with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business. Skretta said UNL faculty members provide some of the instruction, allowing students to earn college credit before high school graduation.
At Lincoln Northwest High School, a partnership with the Bryan College of Health Sciences gives participating students access to college faculty and health-care instruction. Skretta said students can earn a certified nursing assistant credential by the end of their junior year.
North Star High School also continues its established aviation program.
Absenteeism remains a post-pandemic concern
Skretta said the district has worked to address pandemic-related learning gaps by strengthening early literacy instruction and extending that focus into adolescent literacy.
Chronic absenteeism, however, remains a significant concern. The district is using school social workers, counselors and administrators to develop attendance plans for students who are frequently absent.
Skretta recalled a message Northeast High School Principal Liz Miller received from her teachers: “If you can get them here, we can get them to learn.”
“That’s the challenge in absenteeism,” Skretta said.
LPS studying AI and classroom screen time
LPS is also reviewing how artificial intelligence should be used in its schools.
Because the district uses Google Workspace, it has access to Google’s Gemini AI platform. Skretta said Gemini has been enabled for district employees but is not currently available to students.
An LPS artificial-intelligence workgroup has drafted initial guidelines for using the technology in educational settings. Those recommendations will receive additional review during the school year.
Skretta said the district will not examine AI in isolation. Instead, it will consider AI as part of a broader review of classroom technology, including the amount of time students spend using screens and whether digital tools are improving engagement and academic results.
“We’re not going to look at AI as a separate issue,” Skretta said. “We’re going to broaden that context holistically to also consider screen time.”
Skretta said preparations for the new year began months ago with enrollment projections and staffing discussions. The district is now also moving deeper into its budget planning and development process.
The entire discussion with Dr. Skretta is available here
(Dr. John Skretta, photo courtesy of LPS )