WAYNE – Nebraska State Education Association president, Jenni Benson visited with Wayne and northeast Nebraska teachers in preparation for the upcoming school year on Friday.
Benson has put on over 80,000 miles in the past three years visiting with Nebraska schools while attending conferences and leadership events.
Benson grew up in a rural community of Sutherland.
“I understand what’s going on,” said Benson. “We really want to work towards what do you need for your school district versus what Wayne needs versus what other communities need. You know, it varies and that’s why we really like the local control piece.”
The Nebraska State Education Association has been advocating for public schools over the past 152 years. NSEA is Nebraska’s oldest and largest professional association which represents 28,000 public school educators and education support professionals.
The group will be gathering in early August to look over updated guidelines pertaining to COVID-19.
“The big thing with this whole situation is what it looks like today may look totally different a week from now,” Benson added. “So, I think the most important thing is to say we care about kids and their safety, we care about our school staff and their safety and we want to make sure that everyone stays in school.”
NSEA officials state children are 24% of our population but they are 100% of our future and children are the most important investment.
With eight grandchildren of her own and most of them in school, Benson said they had a different experience last year as parents will need to get their children in a routine for the upcoming school year.
“Of what do we need to do, how do we need to get to bed, making sure that you’re getting enough rest, turning off the screens, putting the phone away at night,” Benson mentioned. “I think that as parents one of the things we just need to look at is what do we need to do to work with our teachers and with our families.”
Visit nsea.org for more information.
