LINCOLN- With the pandemic waning, it’s time for Nebraska schools to “restore normal,” but that doesn’t mean just returning to the old ways of doing things, Commissioner of Education Matt Blomstedt told a gathering of state education leaders.

In his message to leaders, Blomstedt said that before the pandemic, schools were experiencing unacceptable achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity, poverty and special needs.

He said he doesn’t want to return to that point and re-establish the practices that entrench that as normal. Blomstedt said that when floods, fires and tornadoes strike, people don’t just rebuild but try to rebuild better.

“We have to be unusual and, quite frankly, we just have to figure out a way that we’re going to grow and get better together.”

Blomstedt said he is excited that Legislative Resolution 335, passed in the last session, set a target for postsecondary education and training goals for young Nebraskans.

In the resolution, state lawmakers set a state goal of having at least 70% of 25- to 34-year-old Nebraskans having a degree, certificate, diploma, or other postsecondary or industry-recognized credential with economic value by 2030.

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