Rising above the fray, to help the transition to the new Beatrice Elementary

BEATRICE – Beatrice Public Schools has honored a person for going above and beyond to help teachers and parents deal with the trappings of traffic as a new elementary school opened this year.  Shelby Melcher was recognized Monday night by Superintendent Jason Alexander.

"The traffic the first couple of days at the elementary school was going to be a challenge....when one third of your traffic flow is being cut off because streets are being redone...that creates a bit of an issue. Our school staff worked extremely hard to minimize that as much as possible. We knew it was going to happen. We knew it was going to be a training process where we had to teach people how to go through the line, how to pick up...how to make things works. There were plenty of people out there that were not happy, but Shelby was one that instead of joining in on all that...she was one person that rose above all the insanity, the negativity and the absurdity of all of it...and recognized how hard all of our staff was trying to work to make things go better."

Alexander says after the first couple of days, traffic began to move more efficiently as parents and their children got accustomed to the new surroundings. He says Melcher helped greatly in the transition, organizing a lunch for the entire elementary staff of some 150 to recognize how hard they had worked to adjust.
"It was so inspiring to see someone recognize and appreciate the hard work in 98-degree weather after school...to get kids in their cars and where they're supposed to be, on time and safely. Thank you to you, for being a friend to us. But more importantly, a positive light in our community. It truly meant a lot to our staff."

Melcher mostly deflected the praise, citing the cooperation of everyone in the transition, including the support of over 20 local businesses.
"It was amazing to help facilitate that delivery of gratitude to all of the staff members out there. They weren't just thankful for the lunch portion. Through businesses and donations, we were able to serve breakfast, lunch...and every single staff member was able to walk out of there with a gift bag filled with little goodies from different businesses in the community, as well. All of these staff members get to visit these businesses. It's really, really cool to see the support from the community, in a moment like that."

The Beatrice School Board also recognized the district’s Business of the Month honoree…the local Scooters Coffee franchise and owner Katie Kieffer.
The business supported the lunch provided to teachers and staff and also held their own fundraiser for furnishings at the new elementary, through its Grand Reopening held July 3rd.

The board of education also recognized Mallory Hubka as employee of the month in the district. She is a third-grade elementary school teacher in BPS.