The Science Focus Program (SFP) or Zoo School, or simply Zoo, is a part of

Lincoln Public Schools Lincoln Public Schools was founded in 1923, and is the second largest public school district in the U.S. state of Nebraska, located in the heart of the Great Plains. The school district of over 40,000 students is home to more than 60 schools and p ...

and is one of the district's three focus programs, along with the Arts and Humanities Focus Program and the Career Academy. It is located at the Lincoln Children's Zoo in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

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, and is described as "a small community of mature learners participating both in a traditional and non-traditional style of learning. A place where students play an active role in defining their learning environment and education."

Staff

The Science Focus Program has five teachers: * Pete White: History and Social Studies * Johnna Graff: English and Communication * Emily Rose-Seifferlein: Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Physical Science, and Geoscience * Andrew "Mark" James: Physics, Biology, Animal Behavior, and Astronomy * Matt Johnson: Mathematics Amy Proffitt serves as secretary, Trudy Dormier as special education coordinator, Emily Trotter as security officer, and James Blake as the Principal.

Academic form

The Science Focus Program runs on an A-day/B-day

block schedule Block scheduling or blocking is a type of academic scheduling used in schools in the American K-12 system, in which each pupil has fewer classes per day. It is more common in middle and high schools than in primary schools. Each class is schedu ...

, with the days alternating throughout the week. Wednesdays, known as "Focus Days", are commonly run on an alternative schedule, reserved for additional class times for core classes and applied arts. Instead of having a finals week, Science Focus Program has a portfolio week. Portfolios are projects that are specific to each class that are used in place of finals. Each class has its own portfolio. Portfolios are handed out during each semester and students are expected to complete and present them at the end of the semester.

Campus

The Science Focus Program's campus is located in the southeast corner of the Lincoln Children's Zoo. The two

portable buildings A portable, demountable or transportable building is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located. Smaller version of portable buildings are also known as portable cabins. Portable cabins are prefabricated structu ...

house the computer lab, a science room and laboratory, and the English classroom. The Camelot Commons, a larger, 2-story structure at the edge of the Science Focus Program campus, houses the social science, mathematics, and natural science classrooms.

History

The idea for the Science Focus Program originated in 1995. Teachers met and worked part-time planning for the program, and part-time teaching at their high schools. The main idea for the focus program was to give students an alternative to regular high school. The teachers' vision consisted of a place where students could come and feel welcome and comfortable enough to express their individual talents and ideas. The school opened for the 1997–1998 school year, accepting juniors and seniors. Since then, changes have been made, allowing the Science Focus Program to accept sophomores and freshmen. On September 14, 2017, the Science Focus Program was visited by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's education secretary,

Betsy DeVos Elisabeth Dee DeVos ( ; ' Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support for ...

. Her appearance was met with student protesters on the inside and public protesters outside, though the school day was urged to proceed as normal and no serious incidents occurred. The school's small class size was praised by DeVos. For many years, the Lincoln Children's Zoo hosted a "Science Day" in which the public, along with elementary schools, walk around the zoo as Science Focus Program students enrich their knowledge with fun scientific activities. All students worked stations and participated. The Science Focus Program is expected to have a new, single building (differing from the current 3 building setup) on the outskirts of the Lincoln Children's Zoo, correlating with the Lincoln Children's Zoo expansion plans. The building is expected to be finished in July 2019.

Student life

The Science Focus Program enrolls new students every year. Official clubs include the Key Club,

Science Olympiad Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...

, Women in STEM Club,

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

Club, and Yearbook Club. Former clubs include

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java (programming language), Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made pub ...

Club, Biking Club, G&S Enterprises, Poker Club, Roots & Shoots, Gardening Club, Coloring Club, and

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

Club.

Notable alumni

References

External links

* {{authority control Education in Lincoln, Nebraska Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska Focus programs in Lincoln, Nebraska Public high schools in Nebraska Magnet schools in Nebraska Educational institutions established in 1997 1997 establishments in Nebraska