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A special shout out this week to the ESU 8 School Psychologists who serve throughout our district! National School Psychology Week is recognized November 9-13.
We are so proud of our school psychologists for building meaningful relationships, supporting student mental health, strengthening school-family collaboration, and transforming school communities.
about 16 hours ago, DeManda McGowen
professional photos of six women and one man shaped into circles with
The ESU 8 Health and Wellness Team is encouraging all to reflect on gratitude this November.
5 days ago, DeManda McGowen
gratitude tips with a fall boarder of leaves and pumpkins
ESU 8 has career opportunities available! Immediate paraeducator openings at our Clearwater and Norfolk locations. We also have openings for Speech Language Pathologists. Find out more by visiting https://www.esu8.org/o/esu8/page/employment
5 days ago, DeManda McGowen
we are hiring
The Library Media Specialist Collab Day was facilitated by Jaci Palmer & Steph Lundgren of ESU 8 and Otis Pierce of ESU 7. The day was filled with info from NDE, literacy and technology updates, digital resource overviews and collaboration time.
20 days ago, DeManda McGowen
A group of men and women standing in front of a television screen
Students from nine ESU 8 district schools attended the Nebraska Digital Citizenship Symposium on October 6 at the ESU 8 Main Office in Neligh. The more than 50 attendees were 6th through 12th graders. Attending schools included St. Mary's O'Neill, Norfolk Catholic, Stuart, Battle Creek, Plainview, Wheeler Central, Neligh-Oakdale, Summerland, and Elgin. The Symposium was led statewide by Dr. Kristen Mattson the co-creator of the Edvolve Framework. Locally, ESU 8 Teaching and Learning Specialist Jaci Palmer was the district's facilitator.
about 1 month ago, DeManda McGowen
students sitting at tables in groups by school
students sitting in groups by school
students sitting in groups at tables by school
a women in a red blaser presents information from a stand in the front of a conference room
high school students sitting at white conference room tables
area students sit at white conference room tables and have laptops open
ESU 8 welcomed area principals to a Principal Leadership Assembly in September. Several speakers included, Boyd County Principals who shared an idea from the field with their colleagues, as well as Principal Jim York shared a school wide executive functioning support initiative, and Patty Novicki of Elkhorn Valley spoke about her secondary teachers collaborative litearacy work and the shift toward students carrying the majority of the cognitive load. Another principal, Jeff Heimes, of Battle Creek, provided insights about their MTSS problem solving system, accompanying innovative class schedule, and their expectations for WIN time.
about 1 month ago, DeManda McGowen
Women in pink blazer presenting to 4 men sitting in a conference room
professional men and women, some sitting, some standing in a conference room
Man in a light blue long sleeved shirt presenting in front of a screen
In September, three groups of dedicated teachers "graduated" from LETRS Volume 2, which teaches the Science of Reading. This group of teachers is from several public and parochial schools around the region. Excellent work, everyone!
about 1 month ago, DeManda McGowen
a group of women educators
Today, we are celebrating and recognizing the incredible work of our ESU 8 IT Department! Behind every smooth digital connection, secure network, and functioning device is a team working tirelessly to keep our educational community moving forward.
A massive thank you to our tech powerhouses:
Michael Roth – Technology Director
Madi DeSive – Technology Technician
From troubleshooting daily technical glitches to managing complex infrastructure, Michael and Madi ensure our schools, staff, and students have the tools they need to succeed every single day.
We appreciate your expertise, patience, and dedication! 🚀👏
about 2 months ago, DeManda McGowen
light gray background with the wording in purple print National Information Technology Professionals Day  and two circular photos one depiciting a man and the other a woman with light colored hair
Special Education educators and staff from throughout the ESU 8 district met for updates and training at the ESU 8 main office in Neligh on August 26. ESU 8 Special Education Director Ruth Miller was on of the presenters who shared important information with the group.
2 months ago, DeManda McGowen
a group of men and women sitting at tables in a conference room and another photo of a women in a maroon suit with dark hair and glasses speaking into a microphone
Superintendents from the districts in ESU 8 attended a Superintendent Administrative Assembly meeting at the main office in Neligh on August 19. The superintendents were provided information from ESU 8 staff members, NDE, legal updates, and legislature updates.
3 months ago, DeManda McGowen
men and women from the ESU 8 sitting at long white tables in a conference room
New and new to ESU 8 Special Education teachers and a school psychologist participated in a Special Education Survival Skills workshop presented by ESU 8 SPED Director Ruth Miller and ESU 8 SPED Assistant Director Toni Arehart on August 18.
3 months ago, DeManda McGowen
a group of men and women who work in special education throughout ESU 8 district
ESU 8 has opportunities available for paraeducators at our Eastern Learning Center, substitute paraeducators and educators, speech language pathologists, and licensed mental health therapists. Visit our job opportunities tab on the ESU 8 homepage for more information or to apply today!
3 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Black and Red text

The 48th Annual ESU 8 Golf Tournament was held on Friday, June 5 at the Antelope Country Club. 18 teams from throughout the ESU 8 district participated in the fun event. The Championship Flight was won by the Battle Creek team (Cody Wintz, Curtis Childers, Jake Luhr, and Andrew Childers), second place was Elgin (Randy Eisenhauer, Greg Wemhoff, Trent Ostransky, and Nick Heithoff, and third place in the championship flight was The Drawshank Redemption (Brett Arehart, Dexter Hanzel, Adam Yilk and Tom Sauser. Winners of the first flight were team Northeast Community College (Del Ames, Gregg Reikofski, Tony Miller, and Shawn Koehler), second place Thompson 3 and Frasch (Ron Thompson, Rick Thompson, Christie Thompson, and Rod Frasch) and third place went to Ping Perfect (Matthew Arens, Aaron Lorenz, Haeven Pedersen, and Chuck Hughes).

5 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Two photos of golf team winners
ESU 8 is looking to fill the position of school nurse for one day per week at Chambers Public Schools starting this 2026-2027 school year. Contact beth.ramold@esu8ne.org for more information.
5 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Join Our Team School Nurse Open Position is 1 day per week at Chambers Public Schools

The ESU 8 Wellness Committee completed its Triennial Wellness Review. The updated policy and results can be found here.

6 months ago, DeManda McGowen
ESU 8 Wellness Committee Triennial Wellness Review Results 2026 List of team members, areas of strength, opportunities for improvement, and moving forward plan

Please join us in honoring our 2026 ESU 8 Retirees! Everyone is welcome to a retirement celebration reception on Wednesday, May 20, 2 to 4 p.m. at the ESU 8 Main office in Neligh. Kim and Beth, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

6 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Gray ombre background featuring square red frames, the left one with a short haired blond woman wearing glasses, the left framed photo shows a brunette short haired woman wearing glasses

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4-8! Wishing all teachers a wonderful week! "If you can read this, thank a teacher"--American Proverb

6 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Dark blue background, white font stating "Teacher Appreciation Week "underneath it  shows a pencil, paperclips, a ruler bent into a rainbow shape over top of a red apple
Happy School Principals' Day 2026 to all of the awesome principals throughout ESU 8! Special shout out to ESU 8 Learning Centers Principal DeAnna Clifton! You are appreciated!
6 months ago, DeManda McGowen
Purples and pinks for a background featuring a photo of a woman with medium length brown hair and a black top

Please join us for the 48th Annual ESU 8 Golf Tournament on Friday, June 5, 8 a.m. check in and 8:30 a.m. start. The tournament will be held at the Antelope Country Club located off Highway 275 east of Neligh. Registration for a 4-person team is $200 and includes coffee, green fees (18 holes), lunch, and prizes! Please reach out to DeManda at demanda.mcgowen@esu8ne.org for donating and sponsorship opportunities, or visit this link to register your team.

7 months ago, DeManda McGowen
A light green background with golf tournament information. The lower part of the flyer shows a white golf ball sitting on top of a golf tee with a bit of grass across the bottom of the photo.
It's Winter Wonderland at the ESU 8 Learning Center PROM!!
7 months ago, Corey Dahl
Winter scene
Winter scene
Winter scene and sleigh
Winter scene and table
Winter scene
Igloo and tree