The Lincoln Public Schools system is the second largest district in the state of Nebraska. A seven-member, non-partisan board of education selects a superintendent. Lincoln's students consistently score above the national average on standardized tests, and the system's high school graduation rate is one of the highest in the country at about 82 percent. Expansion Management magazine has ranked public education in Lincoln in the top five nationwide for quality. The first new schools to open in 35 years were two high schools, Lincoln Southwest (in 2002) and Lincoln North Star (in 2003).
The following is a summary of data regarding the Lincoln public schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.
Total enrollment: 32,120
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 36
junior high schools: 11
senior high schools: 6
other: 1
Student/teacher ratio: 13.5:1
Teacher salaries
minimum: $28,512
maximum: $60,584
Funding per pupil: $7,568
The city is served by 30 private and parochial schools.
Public Schools Information: Lincoln Public Schools, 5901 O St., Lincoln, NE 68510; telephone (402)436-1000
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), with an enrollment of 22,569 students in 2004, maintains two campuses in Lincoln. Selected as fourth place overall by The Scientist on its "2004 Best Places to Work in Academia," UNL offers 140 undergraduate (with 275 programs of study) and 112 graduate programs along with operating a law school and a dental college. Two liberal arts colleges, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Union College, schedule courses leading to the baccalaureate degree. Union, which is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist church, enrolls more than 900 students from 42 states and 26 countries; the functioning one-room George Stone School on campus permits education majors to acquire small-class teaching experience. Founded in 1887 by Nebraskan Methodists, Wesleyan is comprised of 1,500 students and was chosen by U.S. News and World Report as the leading liberal arts college in the state of Nebraska.
Technical and vocational schools located in the Lincoln area include Southeast Community College–Lincoln Campus, and The Lincoln School of Commerce. Of historical interest, Charles Lindbergh learned to fly at the Lincoln Airplane and Flying School, though it is no longer in business.
The Lincoln City Libraries system, headquartered downtown, operates seven branches and a bookmobile; it maintains holdings of about 800,000 volumes, more than 2,000 periodical titles, plus microfiche, books on tape, videos, CDs, DVDs, and CD-ROMs. Special collections feature Nebraska authors and sheet music; the library is a depository for state documents. Free Internet access is available.
Union College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Southeast Community College–Lincoln Campus operate campus libraries. Several federal and state agencies maintain libraries in Lincoln; among them are the National Park Service, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Nebraska Legislative Council, the Nebraska Library Commission, and the Nebraska State Historical Society. The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, as well as hospitals, churches and synagogues, and corporations, also operate libraries in the city.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln maintains extensive holdings in several academic libraries, including a collection of Great Plains art. It is also a center for specialized research; facilities include the Barkley Memorial Center for speech therapy and hearing impaired study, the Engine Technology Center, the Food Processing Center, and the UNL Center for Mass Spectrometry. The Nebraska Technology Development Corporation and the Nebraska Research and Development Authority provide links between research and commercial product development.
Public Library Information: Lincoln City Libraries, 136 S 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68508; telephone (402)441-8500