Omaha Public Schools board adopts ‘moonshot’ goal: all students reading on grade level by 2030

The Omaha Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to adopt a resolution setting a districtwide goal that every OPS student will be reading on grade level by 2030.

Superintendent Ray and district leaders described the initiative — branded the “moonshot” — as a singular, systemwide focus combining professional learning, changes to instructional time and a review of graduation requirements. “This is not a hashtag. This is not a gimmick,” Superintendent Ray told the board as he introduced the proposal and the planning process.

The board’s vote came after a detailed presentation from district staff. Suzanne Kramer, chief school improvement officer, summarized four interlocking work streams: strategy development, instructional time, graduation-requirements review and a “stop doing” team to remove programs or processes that do not support the literacy goal. Kramer said the district has trained more than 200 teachers in initial Science of Reading professional learning and is building a “3‑60 dashboard” to monitor attendance, behavior and on‑track indicators alongside reading progress.

The presentation included a problem statement showing that the highest level of literacy proficiency previously recorded for any grade in OPS was 42 percent of third…