The Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties’ Mission: 

Bring together the strengths within our community to create a collaborative environment that promotes academic excellence, the development of educational opportunity and resource equity that maximizes the potential of every child.

The Learning Community owes its creation to legislators and school districts willing to look at our area as one community and develop a system that acknowledges the interdependency of school districts within a shared region and how student achievement in each of those districts impacts the health and welfare of the entire metropolitan area.

The first elected Learning Community Coordinating Council took office in January 2009.  The initial task undertaken by the Council was to create the working structure of the organization, meet with school districts, health and human services organizations, community groups, city and county offices, legislators and the Nebraska Department of Education preparing for the decisions and work ahead.

The law written by the legislature focused on three key areas in our local community’s goal for educational excellence: 

1. The Learning Community is charged with addressing barriers to student achievement, barriers both academic and social in nature.  We are to meet these challenges head-on through the creation of Elementary Learning Centers.  Elementary Learning Centers are to serve as visionary resource centers for enhancing the academic success for elementary students, particularly those students who face challenges in the educational environment due to factors such as poverty, limited English skills and mobility.  Plans for the first centers were submitted prior to the end of 2009.  As we move forward into 2010, we will be focusing on implementing these plans.
2. Having our school communities reflect the socioeconomic diversity of our greater community.  Classrooms are the preparation ground of our future leaders and decision-makers.  As such, the earlier we can introduce our students to the diversity that exists all around us, the better equipped they will be to succeed. 
3. Addressing the inherent inequities of funding that typically exist in urban/suburban educational settings.  This is a struggle that communities throughout our country have been grappling with for years.  The Learning Community is responsible for setting the Common Levy General Fund and the Common Levy Special Building Fund.  The dollars collected through these levies are distributed by the Learning Community to the 11 member school districts based on formulas that give weight to the needs and resources of the member school districts.

The Learning Community Coordinating Council is the largest governing body of a Nebraska political subdivision outside the Unicameral.  It is made up of Six Achievement Subcouncils that represent our area. 

Voters living in an Achievement Subcouncil elect two Council members to represent their area through a limited voting process.  One additional member is elected to each Achievement Subcouncil who is a sitting school board member and is elected through a school board caucus of school board members representing school districts within a given Achievement Subcouncil.  Any school district without a representative elected publicly or through school board caucus can appoint a non-voting representative to the Council.

Currently the Learning Community Coordinating Council includes 18 voting and 3 non-voting members.

The Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties has eight public bodies within the organization:

• The Learning Community Coordinating Council is made up of all Council members and conducts regular public meetings
• Each of the six Achievement Subcouncils are made up of three voting members and conduct public meetings within their Subcouncil area
• The Advisory Committee is comprised of the superintendents of the 11 member school districts and meets publicly as an advisory body to the Learning Community Coordinating Council