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Bill would reward certified teachers
ByJillZeman
Staff uniter
Teachers who go the extra mile
could be rewarded with a bonus under
a proposed legislative bill.
LB 1226, introduced on Jan. 12 by
Sen. Nancy Thompson of Papillion,
would create the Master Teacher
Program.
This program would recognize
outstanding teachers in Nebraska by
awarding teachers who obtain national
certification an annual bonus of
$10,000 for as long as they are certi
fied, Thompson said.
Teachers must have taught at
. either public or private schools in
Nebraska for at least three years before
becoming eligible for the award, she
said.
Members of the Education
Committee discussed the bill Monday
but did not vote whether to advance
the bill to the floor^or debate.
Currently, there are eight teachers
in Nebraska who have obtained their
certifications, Thompson said.
To become certified, teachers
must submit a portfolio including their
students’ work and how they graded it,
said Helen Banzhaf, a math teacher at
Seward High School and a nationally
certified teacher.
Teachers must also send in an
unedited videotape of one of their
classes, showing their teaching meth
ods, as well as taking a tgst showing
their knowledge in their areas of
expertise, Banzhaf said.
Banzhaf has taught for 32 years
and received her certification last year,
she said.
Certification doesn’t require a
master’s degree, but most teachers
pursuing it have their master’s,
Banzhaf said.
“(Becoming nationally certified)
has renewed my interest in education
and excellence,” Banzhaf said.
Under the proposed bill, teachers
interested in becoming nationally cer
tified would also be eligible for the
reimbursement of their $2,000 regis
tration fee, Thompson said.
The bill would award $ 1,000 at the
beginning of the certification, and the
other $ 1,000 would be refunded at the
successful completion of it, she said.
Thompson said the program offers
many benefits to Nebraska’s educa
tional system.
“We’re interested in providing
quality teachers to students, and we
also want young people to consider
teaching as a career,” she said.
Bill addresses shortage of young teachers
SHORTAGE from page 1
The bill states that a student must
fulfill four qualifications in order to
be eligible for the scholarship.
Scholarship candidates must be a
resident of Nebraska, enrolled in a
teacher education program, have a
GPA of at least 3.0 and sign a state
ment of intent to become a teacher in
a shortage area in Nebraska follow
ing graduation.
f “This would enable students to
F.
come out of college debt-free, so they
can afford to stay in their profession,”
Thompson said.
Students could receive up to
$3,000 per year, and those who are
student teaching could receive
$4,500, she said.
Marge Harouff, Nebraska Board
of Education member, said the board
is concerned because people current
ly graduating with teaching degrees
are sometimes taking positions out
side of the teaching field.
Harouff said that the percentage
of students enrolled in teacher educa
tion programs has dropped about 11
percent in the past three years.
Thompson said her proposed bills
don’t solve all the problems facing
education in Nebraska.
“The fact is, we need more teach
ers, and we need to keep them in the
profession,” she said.
The senators did not vote on the
bills and will decide later whether to
send it the floor.
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General Affairs committee
debates tougher MIP penalties
Senators discussed on Monday
making a stiffer penalty for minors
caught with alcohol.
LB 1130, introduced Jan. 10 by Sen.
Gene Tyson of Norfolk, would increase
the penalties for minors in possession
of alcohol.
The first, second and third offenses
would result in $250, $500 and $750
fines respectively.
Under the proposed bill, the court
could suspend a minor’s driver’s license
for six months for the first offense, one
year for the second and two years or
until the violator turns 21, whichever is
longer, for the third offense, Tyson said.
Minors could regain their licenses
after the elapsed time by paying $95.
Another provision of the bill states
that minors’ parents or guardians must
be notified of their arrests.
The General Affairs committee has
not yet voted on the bill.
Stores selling alcohol to minors
could have charges dropped
Members of the General Affairs
committee discussed on Monday
whether retailers who are charged with
selling alcohol to minors should have
their cases dismissed if the minors
aren’t convicted.
Currently, a retailer can be charged
with selling alcohol to a minor even if
the minor isn’t charged with a violation,
said Sen. Jennie Robak of Columbus.
LB 1034, which was introduced by
Robak, would allow retailers only to be
charged if the minor is charged with a
crime, Robak said.
Jim Moylan, representing the
Nebraska Licensed Beverage
Association, said under the current law,
retailers are unfairly charged.
“It’s always the retailer who gets
charged, not the minor who intentional
ly breaks the law,” he said.
The senators did not vote on the bill
and will decide later whether to
advance it to the floor for debate.
Lotteries could be required to
disclose odds of winning
People who purchase lottery tickets
in Nebraska could soon have more
information about how bad their odds
of winning may be.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Adrian
Smith of Gering, would require the
state lottery to disclose more informa
tion on their lottery tickets and adver
tisements.
The proposed bill would prohibit
the use of actors or actresses portraying
lottery winners as well, Smith said.
Smith said the bill would allow the
use of paid actors or actresses in com
mercials as long as they didn’t inaccu
rately portray lottery winners.
The bill would also require the lot
tery to list the odds of winning on each
lottery ticket. Smith said.
The General Affairs committee did
not vote on the bill Monday.
Compiled by staff writer Jill
Zeman
Childhood learning hill debated
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
The early years of a child’s life are
the most important.
Or at least that’s what Sen. Ardyce
Bohlke of Hastings told members of the
Education Committee on Monday.
Bohlke’s bill, LB1136, would
amend a bill passed in 1990 that estab
lished 10 early childhood education
programs in the state.
This new bill would take those pro
jects off of pilot project status and pro
vide $50,000 a year to continue child
hood education programs.
A new project would be added to the
existing 10 this year, and three would be
added in subsequent years, Bohlke said.
“Information continues to come in
that proves everything we do in early
childhood makes all the difference later
on,” Bohlke said.
By making the existing pilot pro
grams permanent, the state would be
recognizing the importance of early
childhood education, she said.
Doug Christensen, education com
missioner, said educating children
while they’re young is crucial.
“The achievements of students
down the road will be the product of
what we do in early care,” he said.
Christensen said Bohlke’s bill
would strengthen the existing pro
grams.
“These programs work, and they
work very effectively,” he said.
“Nebraska can provide services in early
childhood education, and we can help
later success.”
But the state lacks motivation,
Christensen said.
He said Nebraska lags behind other
states in funding early childhood educa
tion programs.
“Our general success in education
makes us complacent,” he said.
According to the bill, only a fraction
of Nebraska’s children benefit from the
current childhood education programs,
and the quality of the programs varies.
Bohlke’s bill would also encourage
cooperation between public and private
providers of early childhood education
and child care.
“It has to be a school-to-community
partnership program,” Christensen said.
“The bill provides for slow, steady
growth as community interest grows.
As we wait, more children are not being
served.”
A1 Inzerello, assistant superinten
dent of Westside Community Schools,
said he knows the programs work well.
His school district has had early
childhood education programs since
they began in Nebraska
“We can attest to the long term ben
efits of the programs,” he said. “This is
quality seed money and money well
spent.”
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