September 2, 2026
For more than a decade, school districts across the Omaha metro area have worked together through the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan to strengthen opportunities for young children and families.
The newly released Superintendents' Early Childhood Plan Annual Report: 2025–26 highlights how that partnership continues to grow and the sustained impact it is having in schools and communities.
The Superintendents’ Plan is a collaborative effort among the 11 school districts that make up the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska. The initiative aims to expand access to early childhood programs and services, particularly for children living in poverty.
The Learning Community partners with the districts and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska to advance the plan, providing funding and ongoing guidance and oversight. The Buffett Institute provides leadership and support for implementation in collaboration with participating school districts.
Highlights during the 2025–26 school include:
- Ten districts participated through district action planning, customized assistance, School as Hub programming, and professional learning.
- Ten schools have adopted the School as Hub approach through the Superintendents’ Plan, and an additional six sites are implemented through the Omaha Public Schools Intensive Early Childhood partnership. Altogether, the plan now supports more than 4,600 children and their families.
- At School as Hub sites, district partners are reporting continued progress in attendance, building on prior findings of reduced chronic absenteeism.
- The report also shares stories from schools and programs participating in the plan, illustrating the impact on children, families, and educators.
"I hope you see what I have the privilege of witnessing every day: a community of educators who believe that we accomplish more when we learn with and from one another,” said Amy Schmidtke, director of educational practice and Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan project lead at the Buffett Institute.
Districts strengthened early literacy and math instruction, expanded family engagement, improved transitions into school, developed stronger systems for collaboration, and increased opportunities to connect with families before children enter Kindergarten.
Professional learning also remained an important part of advancing early childhood practice. Thousands of educators and school leaders participated in workshops, coaching, and other opportunities to learn with and from one another, and a digital Professional Learning Catalog allows districts and child care providers to browse the Institute’s offerings.
The Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan continues to stand as a national model for what is possible through cross-district collaboration. Few communities have built this kind of sustained partnership among school districts around a shared vision for early childhood. While the plan is uniquely rooted in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, the principles behind it offer a replicable framework for communities across the country seeking to strengthen their own early childhood systems.
The 2025–26 Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan Annual Report tells the fuller story of that work, with district-by-district accomplishments, examples of the plan in action, participation data, and a look at what comes next.
Read the full report to explore how educators, leaders, families, and communities are working together to strengthen early learning across the Omaha metro area.
Greta Morris joined the Buffett Early Childhood Institute in June 2023. In her role as public outreach communications specialist, she is responsible for media relations, communications, and public outreach.