Lincoln High School — dubbed the “Palace of Learning†a century ago by the first students to walk the marble halls of the city’s oldest high school — received props once again for its architectural beauty.
This time it was Architectural Digest, the slick Conde Nast publication favored by the affluent and style-conscious set, which last month listed “the most beautiful public high school†in each state.
In Nebraska, the magazine tapped the home of the Links.
Built in 1915 at 22nd and J streets, the neoclassical design made with brick and limestone, terra cotta and marble stood on the edge of town.
Now the school, which shares magazine space with other “veritable works of art†the magazine said could be mistaken for private homes or castles or universities, sits in the middle of Lincoln.
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Back in 1915, the students wrote about the marble floors and its 100 rooms, swimming pool and magnificent theater. The $750,000 building held 1,200 students. Now more than 2,000 walk the halls.
It’s the second home for Lincoln High, which opened in its first building in 1871. It’s expanded south over the years, growing as the city has grown. Its architectural beauty was updated in recent years, including a new and modern theater named after JFK’s speechwriter, Lincoln High grad Ted Sorensen.
Let's talk boundaries
In the coming months, the Lincoln Board of Education will be tackling what has often been a controversial subject: attendance area boundaries.
District staff will bring possible boundary changes — primarily for elementary and middle schools — to the board’s planning committee over the next four months, based on the latest enrollment and school capacity numbers. At some point after that, the full board will likely hear recommendations.
Scott Wieskamp, director of operations, said staff will study each of the city's quadrants separately, focusing on longstanding hot spots of overcrowding.
That issue certainly isn’t new.
LPS spends a lot of time talking about its robust enrollment growth: Total district enrollment this year is 41,760 with the addition of 830 new students. The district had grown by more than 850 additional students each year for the previous four years and officials predict enrollment will grow by 5,000 more students in the next five years.
The district opened Wysong Elementary School last fall and Moore Middle School this fall, both in south Lincoln. In recent years, the district added space to three northeast elementary schools.
The latest update to the district’s 10-year plan recommends building four new elementary schools, two new middle schools and a new high school within the next decade.Â
And a task force of more than 80 LPS staff and community members has begun looking at options for the next high school.
Before the district moves forward on a bond issue to build anything, though, it will take a look at attendance areas, Wieskamp said.
“I think it’s one of a checklist of things that needs to be covered so that the community believes we’ve looked at every option there is to take advantage of empty seats,†Wieskamp said. “High school, boundaries, Community Learning Centers, early childhood education, all those need to be discussed and addressed by our board before we talk about a bond issue.â€
The district routinely adjusts boundaries to accommodate land at the outskirts of the city or new schools, but it hasn’t tackled all attendance boundaries in a decade.
LPS policy allows students attending a school to remain there if the district changes boundaries, and younger siblings can attend as long as their older siblings are still at the school.
But changing boundaries can be tough, which veteran board member Kathy Danek has tried to tell newer members.Â
“People are attached to buildings,†she said. “(Schools) are why they bought their house, so they feel we’re moving the goalpost on them. But sometimes we have to do that.â€
Mark your calendars
Steve Joel took over as superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools in the middle of what was then a robust discussion — which lasted for several board meetings — about the school calendar.
He couldn’t believe a calendar generated such controversy.
Those days are gone. If you let your attention wander, you might have missed the unanimous approval at the last school board meeting of calendars for 2019-20 and 2020-21.
They follow similar patterns to recent calendars: mid-August starts, ending before Memorial Day, and fall, winter and spring breaks falling between quarters.
If you want to know the pertinent dates, go to .