Students at Nelson Mandela School near 30th and Curtis in North Omaha began the day with a special visit from U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
DeVos is visiting schools in Omaha and Lincoln on Thursday as part of her "Rethink School" Tour. After attending the students morning assembly in the gymnasium, Devos stopped by a kindergarten math class, a third grade language arts class and dropped in on students practicing the violin.
“Good morning, Secretary DeVos,” was the greeting delivered by each class. She told the students in the violin class, “You’re making beautiful music.” Mandela school partners with the Omaha Conservatory of Music to make the class possible.
Mandela Elementary School is a privately funded school with 180 students in Kindergaten through 3rd grade. Most of the students are from low-income families, and the school offers free tuition, year-round schooling and recess every 90 minutes.
The school staff got to show secretary DeVos some of the groundbreaking work being done at the school, including the Singapore math curriculum, and the use of Spalding Language Arts, a phonics based approach to reading.
DeVos has been criticized for her support of expanding charter schools and vouchers. Critics say they drain money from already underfunded public schools. On KFAB's Morning News DeVos said.
If parents and kids have a chance to choose the right education environment for them, we need to be focused on them, not on the name or the word that comes before schools."