LPS reports gains for Native students and previews Title VI and demonstration grant funding

Lincoln — Lincoln Public Schools staff presented the district’s annual Title VI Indian Education grant update to the Board of Education on April 8, outlining current services, grant funding estimates and student outcomes tied to the program.

Dr. Marco Pedroza, director of federal programs, told the board that the district currently has 752 ED‑506 eligibility certification forms on file, which drives Title VI formula funding. He said the estimated Title VI allocation for the coming year is $203,070, roughly $9,000 more than the current year; he added the figure is preliminary and may shift by a few thousand dollars when final federal amounts are released.

Pedroza and Joe Russo, the district’s American Indian grant coordinator, also reviewed a separate discretionary demonstration grant that provides enrichment and expanded services; the demo grant is funded at roughly $500,000 per year and has two years remaining in its current five‑year award period.

The presentation included program highlights and outcomes. Russo described cultural and academic supports such as partnerships with the Lincoln Indian Center, elders who serve as knowledge keepers, and classroom supports. He announced a new kindergarten‑5th and 8th‑grade promotion honoring ceremony to be held at Lincoln Standing Bear High School.

Russo also presented student outcome data from district interventions. He said 63 American Indian graduates were honored in 2024 and that, of 17 students who had ED‑506 forms but did not graduate at the time of the initial report, five later graduated, eight remained enrolled with "no plan," and four had dropped out. The team said staff reached out individually to those students to learn their stories and to encourage re‑enrollment where possible.

Russo highlighted reading intervention work by Taryn Abernisk, the Native American reading interventionist, and showed test‑score gains for students she served in kindergarten through third grade and on MAP reading assessments.

Board members asked questions about outreach and student identification; presenters said the district identifies families through events, partnerships (including the University of Nebraska Intertribal Exchange) and ongoing community communication, and that advocates are assigned to every LPS building. Transportation to program events, the presenters said, is funded through the grants.

Barb Beyer, a board member, noted the federal government’s treaty obligations and described the grants as a different funding relationship than typical district grants. Board members requested an invitation to the upcoming promotion ceremonies.

No board action was taken; staff said decisions on funds allocation are made in consultation with the Native American advisory committee and that updates will continue as the district finalizes the grant application.