Sheridan Elementary School

Welcome to Sheridan Elementary

Sheridan Elementary School is located at 3100 Plymouth Avenue in Lincoln, Nebraska. It opened its doors in 1926. The school was named for its proximity to Sheridan Boulevard, which honors Civil War General Philip Henry Sheridan. The school's main office phone number is 402-436-1167.

From the Principal

Our focus during the 2008 - 2009 school year continues to be helping all students reach their full potential. We know all students are learners and we'll strive to provide materials and instruction to meet their individual goals. Our school improvement goal emphasizes closing the achievement gap. We want to teach and model for students that learning is an important part of their lives, regardless of if they are completing school assignments or other projects. We want to help students understand that learning is a natural process and all students have the ability to learn. Learning helps students explore their own thoughts and feelings. We feel strongly that teaching our students the skills to become better learners will help them to become better readers, thinkers, speakers, learners and citizens. If we are successful at reaching our goal we feel strongly that students will improve across the curriculum in reading, math and writing.

We also believe that we should have a higher percent above grade level as judged by teacher and district assessments in the area of reading, math and writing as children become better thinkers. Tharp and Gallimore in Partners in Learning argue that “the instructional task of the school is to facilitate the developmental process by teaching the schooled language of reading and writing, and facilitating constant conjunction of these systems with those of everyday concepts.” We want to capture the power of the young child’s learning process by encouraging thinking.

We invite our parents/guardians to be highly committed partners in the learning process of their children. If children are going to achieve at their highest level we must have parents help with the process.

• At the beginning of the year the school improvement and grade level SMART goals are shared with parents. Teachers also share ideas for them to support their child’s learning at home.
• Information is shared with parents in weekly SPIN notes regarding ways to support and improve their child’s learning.
• Teachers share information at conferences inviting parents to help support their child’s learning
• Parents and community members model the importance of learning as teachers invite them into classroom to talk about how their education has helped in their careers.
• Parents work as volunteers in their children’s classroom. They work as partners ensuring that every student has the opportunity for success.

In Schools That Learn Peter Senge writes that we should not see students as passive recipients of knowledge, but as co-creators of knowledge and participants in the evolution of the school. Children help us create a vision for their own lifelong learning and become part of a system that nurtures all their capabilities and awareness.

-- Mary Kanter, Sheridan Principal