KSD Ends LENS Program

In alignment with their long-term strategic goals, Kearney School District will begin to phase out the LENS program in the 2024-25 school year by offering programming only to current LENS students entering the fourth and fifth grades. In the 2025-26 school year, all elementary students will be served in their home school.

In 2019, the district implemented LENS as a place-based program that offered a unique instructional approach through project-based learning focused on nature and science. The programming has consistently illustrated the benefits of building critical thinking skills, communication, and collaboration.

“We have seen the value of this instructional model, and it is time to take the next step to implement this model of instruction district-wide for the benefit of all elementary students,” Superintendent Emily Miller said. “Over the last three years, the district has systematically provided elementary teachers with professional development in project-based instruction to implement universally.”

LENS has 127 students this school year and is located in a wing of Kearney Junior High. This transition for the program aligns with the district's goal to help ensure that the district is meeting the educational needs of our K-5 students in neighborhood elementary schools.

It will also provide additional space at the junior high school for secondary programs. LENS teachers and support staff will be transferred to other schools in KSD over the next two years.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story