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Education

Hastings residents are committed to quality education and opportunities for students, as they are aware that tomorrow’s labor force is found in today’s student.

All schools encourage parents to be actively involved in their child’s education, so students benefit from strong parental support. Hastings takes pride in the high quality of area public and private schools and backs their commitment to education with both time and financial resources. The result is a small teacher-to-pupil ratio from kindergarten to graduation, helping the Hastings system maintain an AA accreditation.

High academic standards—even at the lower grade levels—set Hastings students apart. The Hastings Public School District has just completed the process of building a new middle school to further the educational process. While adhering to high academic standards, children in all the schools are regularly exposed to technology and award-winning music, visual arts and performing arts programs as a normal part of their curriculum.

The Educational Service Unit #9, www.esu9.org, provides more detailed information for each school and provides support in the form of resource personnel, nurses, counselors, substitute teachers, and a film and audio/visual library. Additionally, Hastings Senior High and Adams Central High extend adult education opportunities to residents seeking to improve their skills.

Adams Central School District
Adams Central School District encompasses the schools outside city limits with several county elementary schools and the junior/senior high school located west of the City of Hastings. The school is a Nebraska School Activities Association Class C1 school district fully accredited by both the State Department of Education and by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Enrollment at Adams Central is 469 students. These students are served by 29 classroom teachers, three special education teachers, one half-time remedial reading teacher, one full-time and one half-time counselor, one library media specialist, three administrators, and 15 support staff members. There are more than 50 curricular and 20 cocurricular classes and activities offered to the students at Adams Central.

Hastings Public School District
Hastings Public Schools consists of schools within the city limits: six elementary schools (Alcott, Hawthorne, Lincoln, Longfellow, Morton and Watson), one middle school, and one high school. The new Hastings Middle School was completed in 2008. The district has an enrollment of approximately 3,400 K-12 students. Given the size, they are able to provide students with the programming and services of a large school while maintaining the caring environment of a school located in a smaller town.

They offer a solid academic program, preparing students for further study at the postsecondary level and/or for the world of work. The school system provides a curriculum well-rounded in the fine arts, manual arts, world language, and career and student support service offerings. An extensive extracurricular program is also available to provide all students with the means to express their special talents.

Hastings Catholic Schools
Hastings Catholic Schools operates a K-12 system, with St. Michael’s Elementary (grades K-5), St. Cecilia’s Middle School (grades 6-8), and St. Cecelia’s High School (grades 9-12).

Parochial
Zion Lutheran School provides a parochial education for grades K-8.

Hastings College
Founded in 1882, Hastings College, www.hastings.edu, is a private, four-year, residential liberal arts college.

Throughout its history, Hastings College has remained faithful to the mission of its Presbyterian founders—a group of men and women who envisioned a college dedicated to the highest standards of academic endeavor within the broad perspective of the liberal arts and the Christian faith.

When the college opened formally on September 13, 1882, there were 44 students and limited offerings in the humanities, arts and sciences. Classes were held in a downtown office building. Today, there are 1,153 students and a curriculum offering 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 preprofessional programs. Hastings College also offers a personalized program designed for students wanting to tailor a course of study. Students can also study abroad with connections to academic opportunities around the globe.

A 109-acre campus provides attractive and well-maintained academic and athletic facilities ranging from McCormick Hall, built in 1883, to the 2002 Osborne Family Sports Complex and the 2005 Bronco Village Apartments. The Morrison-Reeves Science Center—a 55,000 square-foot, environmentally friendly green building—will open for classes in fall 2009.

Offering a 12-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, Hastings College confers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in teaching degrees and operates on a 4-1-4 calendar that includes a January J-Term. The J-term provides an opportunity for special courses on campus, domestic and international study tours, and independent studies and internships. Past J-Term travels have taken Hastings College students to Australia, China, Africa, Europe, Mexico, Israel, Guatemala, Belize and Costa Rica—to name a few.

Our national-caliber professors come from some of the top graduate programs in the nation including Harvard, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Rice, Purdue and Syracuse. Of full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty, 86 percent hold doctorates or other terminal degrees. Three faculty members have been named Nebraska Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

In fall 2008, Hastings College enrolled the second-largest freshman class in its history. Of Hastings College students, 70 percent are from Nebraska, 20 percent from Colorado, and 10 percent from 26 other states and four foreign countries.

Hastings College is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of only three national liberal arts colleges in Nebraska, by the Princeton Review as a “Best Midwestern College,” and by Barron’s as a “Best Value in College Education.” Hastings College has received grant funding from such national foundations as Teagle of New York; Hearst of California; Kresge of Michigan; Kemper of Illinois; and Lilly Endowment, Inc., of Indiana.

In 2005, the American Association of University Professors honored Hastings College President Phillip Dudley, Jr., as only the third college or university president in history to win the Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance for creating a campus environment that engenders trust, collegiality and mutual respect. Dr. Dudley also was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Council of Independent Colleges. In 2008, Hastings College was named a “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the only Nebraska college or university so honored. Additionally, the North Central Association for Colleges and Schools, in approving the college for the maximum 10-year reaccreditation in 2005, cited Hastings as a “student-served college” of “extraordinary collegiality.”

The college’s fundraising and alumni activities are managed and promoted by the Hastings College Foundation, established in 1982. Led by President Gary Freeman, a 1993 alumnus, foundation personnel work closely with the board and college administrators and faculty to meet the institution’s strategic goals. In addition to its headquarters in Omaha, the Foundation has offices on campus in the Barrett Family Alumni Center.

Central Community College
Central Community College, www.cccneb.edu, is a multicampus community college serving a 25-county area in central Nebraska—approximately 14,000 square miles with a population of more than 300,000.

CCC offers 41 career and technical education programs with a focus on degree, diploma and certificate programs requiring two years or less to complete. The college also offers an academic transfer program for students who want to complete the first two years of a bachelor’s degree before transferring to a four-year college or university.

In addition, the college offers classes in communities throughout its 25-county service area; online learning; and training and development for businesses, industries and other organizations. The three main campuses are located in Hastings, Grand Island and Columbus, and educational centers are located in Kearney, Holdrege and Lexington. Additionally, CCC uses a variety of distance learning techniques to provide educational services in some 90 communities in its service area.

Central Community College offers Adult Basic Education classes to provide basic education skills at no cost to students who are 16 years or older and not enrolled in school and offers GED testing under the supervision of the Nebraska Department of Education. ABE is supported at the local, state and national levels. The program has these major components:

• English as a Second Language (ESL) for people who want to learn to speak, read and write English.

• Living Skills for adults who wish to improve their basic life skills.

• Citizenship classes—English Literacy and Civics (EL/Civics) Education for immigrants and U.S. citizens with limited English proficiency.

• ABE includes one-on-one tutoring by volunteers; classes with one or more volunteers; preparation in learning centers; and, in some cases, classes with paid instructors. The program is developed according to the individual needs of each community.

The CCC-Hastings Campus offers degrees, diplomas and certificates in more than 30 career and technical education programs. Academic transfer courses in 17 areas are offered for students who plan to attend CCC for two years before transferring to four-year colleges to complete undergraduate degrees.

On-campus housing is available for 356 students in six state-of-the-art residence halls. In addition, the Hastings Campus offers a number of campus activities, clubs and organizations that promote wellness, service learning and leadership development.

Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital School of Radiologic Technology
The Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital School of Radiologic Technology, www.mlmh.org, is a hospital-based program established to provide well-qualified radiographers. Upon successful completion of the 24-month program, the graduate is awarded a Certificate of Graduation and is eligible to apply for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologies (ARRT) certification examination. The Mary Lanning School of Radiologic Technology is affiliated with Hastings College, Central Community College and the University of Nebraska at Kearney for advanced degrees. The Radiologic Technology Program is approved for 60 credit hours toward a Bachelor of Science degree in radiography from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and 60 credit hours toward an Associate of Science degree in radiography from Central Community College in Hastings.

Creighton University School of Nursing
Creighton University School of Nursing, www2.creighton.edu/nursing, has a campus in Hastings. The School of Nursing campus is adjacent to the Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital. MLMH is home to state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. The traditional, accelerated nursing and RN-BSN programs are offered on this campus. Distance technology is used to deliver selected graduate nursing courses.