Durham Museum: school

This year, Omaha Public Schools celebrates 150 years of educating Omaha's youth.

Those who know me may be asking why am I talking about public schools when I am currently homeschooling my kids--well I am a product of this particular public school system--as is my husband, and my brother, and my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law. I have nothing against public schools per se--but right now we feel that homeschooling is the best choice for our family at this time.

Anyway--I discovered lots of cool things about OPS (Omaha Public Schools) that I did not know. For instance, OPS was the first school to have Safety Patrol. The idea for the National Honor Society came from OPS. And OPS had a "block house" program before the McGruff safe house program.

Here is some more OPS history at a glance taken from the Omaha World-Herald evening edition on 15 August 2009:

1859: Classes for 225 students ages 4 to 18 begin in four locations Nov. 1.

1860: Schools close for three years because federal funds are diverted to the Civil War.

1863: The district opens its first school building. Previously, space was rented.

1879: Ida Overall is the first African-American to graduate from Omaha High School.

1889: Lake School is the first school in Nebraska to fly an American flag. At the time, the flag had 38 stars.

1892: The first kindergarten class is offered.

1895: Lucinda Gamble, a graduate of Omaha High School, becomes the district’s first African-American teacher.

1896: The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union begins serving lunch at Omaha High School. In 1905, a sandwich cost 4 cents.

1921: J.G. Masters establishes the National Honor Society at Omaha Central High School. The organization went national soon afterward.

1923: Omaha Technical High School opens with 3,000 students, making it the largest high school west of Chicago.

1923: Marie Witzel, principal of Farnam School, establishes a school Safety Patrol with the support of local police. It was the first of its kind in the country.

1928: Robbins School is the first to be named for students. Melvin Robbins died in 1910 when he and his brother Charles rescued their disabled mother from a fire. Charles died about a year later in a sledding accident.

1964: George Laitner, principal of Mason School, along with parent volunteers, established the Block Home, a safety concept that spread nationwide. The program was a forerunner of today’s McGruff House.

Enjoy the following slide show of my kids sitting in desks :)