Nebraska
Nebraska Growing Readers program boosting literacy in young children
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Early childhood education is taking flight thanks to a statewide Pilot Program.
The Nebraska Department of Education teamed up with the Nebraska Children and Families’ Foundation, the Statewide Family Engagement Center and Unite for Literacy to provide communities with access to numerous books.
The program focuses on enhancing the literacy of young children by providing a wide array of books to communities across the state.
The Vice President of Early Childhood Programs at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Stephanni Renn, told Channel 8 this has had a huge impact on younger generations.
“Kids have more access readily available because of their childcare centers and their school districts,” she said. “We do different assessments on our kids, and one of those is the ECI, which is the Early Communication Indicator. Those kids that were receiving books in their home, scored at benchmark under language practices because families are reading more, they’re choosing books and they have access to books.”
The Executive Director of Educare, Quentin Brown, said having a diverse selection of books helps keep kids interested in reading.
“To think that people can come in and naturally and organically say ‘Oh! There’s a book that looks like me, there’s a book that sounds like me, there’s a book that expresses an interest that I’m interested in,’” he said. “So what we’ve seen is that there has been a natural desire as people pass through our lobby. There’s a natural desire to just pick up books and read and engage with them and it’s a special thing when it’s someone with a child.”
Renn said one of the best parts about the program is the easy access for families.
“If you scan the front page of this book, it takes you to our digital library,” she said. “And so then you can read the book in various languages. So maybe if I’m an ESL parent, and English isn’t my first language, I can listen to it in Spanish, I can listen to it in Korean, whatever language I am more comfortable in and then I can also have it in English. So it really is access to books and it’s about shared reading and hoping that families choose books.”
And Brown adds that the program is very inclusive for every community.
“One of the important aspects is that children and families have an opportunity to engage in their home language and in their culture and I think that’s a special thing,” he said.
Zach Pluhacek has been appointed as the new inspector general of the Nebraska Correctional System.
Pluhacek replaces former Inspector General Doug Koebernick, who resigned to work for the legislative audit office.
The office of inspector general for corrections was created in 2015 following a scandal involving the early release of some prisoners and a killing spree by released prisoner Nikko Jenkins.
Its duties include conducting investigations, audits, inspections, and other oversight of the Nebraska correctional system for the Legislature.
Pluhacek has worked for the office of inspector general since 2020. Before that he was as a legislative aide after working as a reporter and editor for the Lincoln Journal Star.
Voters across south-central Nebraska’s sprawling Legislative District 38 will soon choose a replacement for State Sen. Dave Murman, who is leaving the Legislature due to term limits.
Five candidates are running for the open seat in District 38 in the May 12 primary election. The district covers Clay, Franklin, Furnas, Harlan, Nuckolls, Red Willow and Webster counties, as well as part of Phelps County.
The candidates come from a wide range of backgrounds, including local government, business, community advocacy and agriculture:
Tim Anderson is serving his fourth year as mayor of Sutton and also runs a farm south of town. He is married and a father of five. “I absolutely enjoy the process of problem solving, bringing people together and the community together to solve the issues that come up,” Anderson said.
Anderson decided to run because he wants to build on what he has learned as mayor. “There’s a lot of problems out there when it comes to taxes, daycare, and economic development, population expansion,” Anderson said. “I want to try to help out in Nebraska in my best way.”
Janelle Anderson Ehrke of Orleans is the founder and CEO of GROW Nebraska, which she describes as a nonprofit that creates “marketing venues and avenues for Nebraska businesses” globally.
“That’s mainly been my experience as far as working directly with rural communities in Nebraska: small businesses,” she said.
Anderson Ehrke explains that she has an agriculture background and that her family is involved in cattle feed yards.
She said she entered the race because she is focused on creating opportunities for rural communities and is concerned with dwindling main streets. “We needed a strong candidate that checked those boxes. And I just didn’t really see [that], especially [a candidate with] a strong economic development and ag base. So that’s why I decided to step in there.”
Jon Capps of Blue Hill owns an apartment complex and runs a consulting business that involves traveling and helping companies implement computer systems. Capps said he has not served on local boards. However, he said he is a veteran who has served as Commander of Legion Post 176.
“I have done several different things,” Capps said. “I’ve owned several companies, so bouncing in and out of that. But I’m primarily a businessman.”
He said his decision to run was influenced by his late wife. “My wife and I were married for 29 years. She passed away in February, but she would have loved this,” Capps said. “She wanted to do this. And so, we put our heads together and decided that we could.”
Capps said his main interest is “fixing some of the problems that are affecting businesses.”
Melanie Knight of Clay Center describes herself as a homemaker and an advocate, a process that started with her child who is on the autism spectrum needing resources which the local school district couldn’t provide.
“I consider myself an advocate,” she said. “And what that means is supporting people. I first did it with my children and then my elderly parents till they passed away.”
Knight said she decided to run for the open seat out of frustration that voices like hers were not being represented in the legislature.
“Honestly, I got fed up,” Knight said. “I got fed up feeling like our representatives in our state legislature were not listening to our voices. And it’s important that our representatives represent us and listen to us.”
Wes Wilmot of Beaver City is retired after 30 years with Verizon, including work as a senior engineer with the company. Amongst other community service, he says he served on the ESU Board for District 11 in Holdrege. “And we’ve done youth ministry for years and years, and we were leaders in that.”
Wilmot says he is also an EMT in Beaver City and has been for years.
Wilmot decided to run because he believes it is his calling. “It’s always been a part of my life to give back to the people, back to the state, back to everybody that helped, you know, me be what I am. And so now I’m retired, our family’s all gone, I’ve got time to go to Lincoln and serve there.”
More coverage of the District 38 race, including each candidates’ goals and priorities if elected, will be available on the NTV website.
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