Nebraska Loves Public Schools visits City of Sidney

Nebraska Loves Public Schools (NE Loves PS) is an organization dedicated to telling the stories of public schools across the state. The group was recently in Sidney to talk to teachers and students about Sidney Public Schools.

The organization travels the state to find out what's happening in the public schools around Nebraska. With interviews from students, teachers, administrators and parents, thousands of hours of video footage make up nearly 50 short films that NE Loves PS has created.

According to its website, NE Loves PS is "a passionate team of filmmakers seeking out and sharing these stories from our public schools." The team creates short documentaries and airs them on television as part of a series called "The State of Education in Nebraska" on NET2 World.

Their films have been recognized by the Webby Awards, nominated as an Official Selection for the PovertyCure International Short Film Festival and screened in the Film Streams Omaha Local Filmmakers Showcase.

Brittany Mascio, director of marketing for NE Loves PS, said the organization's goal is to visit every public school in the state. She said NE Loves PS looks for stories with current topics, or that are inspiring or unusual.

NE Loves PS came to Sidney with the recent Hear Nebraska tour that brought various artists to our area to perform a free all ages concert promoting Nebraska.

Abbie Fraas was one of the local artists that performed at the event. Fraas sang the National Anthem for the audience at the beginning of the show.

Mascio said Fraas was recommend by her school to represent Sidney at the concert.

"This was a great showcase of fine arts for our community as well as local musicians, Abbie Fraas was excited to perform that night," said High School Principal Chris Arent.

Abbie Fraas said the opportunity to work with NE Loves PS was a great way for her to see where other artists are in their career.

"It really motivated me to work towards my career as an artist myself," Fraas said.

NE Loves PS also held an informal discussion with various students and teachers prior to the concert. Masico said "We introduced ourselves and what we do for about twenty minutes and then opened the discussion up to listen to everyone talk about Sidney Public Schools."

Arent said the round table was with staff and students about the great things that happen daily at Sidney Public Schools, but also talked about some of the challenges the school faces.

"We were proud of our students and staff who took the time from their summer vacation to speak with the folks from NE Loves PS," Arent said.

The "round robin" discussion lasted about two hours said Masico.

"There are plenty of positive things going on in Sidney schools," Masico said.

She said Sidney has a lot of pride in their schools, she said that pride is reciprocated in the community support which is one reason Sidney Public Schools is so great.

Along with features and positive feedback NE Loves PS also involves itself in the issues that encompass public schools today. Films on topics like achievement gaps, career and technical education, early childhood education, community investment, health and wellness, science and math education and the arts can all be found on their website.

According to the NE Loves PS website, when students in public schools do well, the community benefits from a more prepared workforce, lower incarceration rates, future economic growth and more engaged citizens for our future communities.

For more information on NE Loves PS or to watch their educating films visit neloveps.org.