It started with a blank page. Dr. Ken Bird, who was nearing retirement from his role as superintendent of the Westside Community Schools, wasn’t quite sure what his post-work life was going to look like. But, unbeknownst to him, fate had already mapped out his future.
Between 2006-2008, Bird noticed an alarming number of articles written about the plight of Black men in the Omaha community. In fact, a 2007 study by the Omaha World Herald concluded the midwest metropolis was the worst place for a Black man to live; it had the highest Black child poverty rate in the nation and third-highest poverty rate for Black residents among the 100 largest metro areas in the United States.
Prior to the 2021 death of Kiewit Corporation CEO Walter Scott, Bird was having a discussion with him about a scholarship program in Wisconsin called the Kalamazoo Promise, which covers tuition and mandatory fees at more than 60 eligible Michigan institutions—from colleges and universities to trade schools and vocational programs—for qualifying students.
Scott and Burlington Capital founder Michael Yanney asked Bird to look into it and see if it was something he’d be interested in replicating for the Omaha community. Initially uninterested, he eventually decided that if they were going to it, it had to provide more than just scholarships.
“I realized scholarships buy you access, but they do not get you any success in college or towards high school graduation rate,” he explained. “My goal was to help the community, help young people who are underserved and underrepresented in our community.
“My last six months as superintendent at Westside, I had the flexibility and the support of Walter with some funding to go around the country and look at a few programs. There were some really good college access programs, but there was nothing integrated together. I knew we had to design our own model.”
And that’s when the idea for Avenue Scholars was born. Now in its sixteenth year, the youth-serving organization has transformed the lives of more than 750 students through educational support, financial guidance, and career development opportunities. Starting in high school and extending through career entry, Avenue Scholars’ primary purpose is to bridge the gap between a student’s education and their careers.
With initial funding from The Sherwood Foundation, Holland Foundation, Lozier Foundation, The Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation, Weitz Family Foundation, and the William & Ruth Scott Family Foundation, Avenue Scholars quickly moved to the high school-embedded program model, with a focus on students in financial need who were aiming toward degrees and held a GPA of 2.5 or lower.
Northwest, Benson, and Ralston were the first schools to join and were soon followed by Bryan, Omaha North, and Millard South. Westside, Millard North, Omaha South, Papillion LaVista, and Blair would eventually round out the 11 high schools currently participating in the Avenue Scholars program.
Hanna Harvey, an Avenue Scholar graduate, was selected for the program while attending Millard West High School. Born to a single mother, Harvey believed her financial limitations made it impossible to pursue college, so she never seriously entertained the idea, but through a program at Metropolitan Community College (MCC), she got into the welding academy her senior year of high school.
“I was doing half day at my high school and then half day at MCC,” Harvey recalled. “That was what got me in the door, and then we found Avenue Scholars. I was incredibly blessed that they offered me a scholarship, making it possible for me to go to college. I had fallen in love with welding, but having the ability to get an education, I learned so much more than I would have if I just had gotten into the field straight in. I cannot speak highly enough about Avenue Scholars. They are an amazing organization and the resources that they give to you and the people that they put you in contact with opens so many doors.”
Harvey graduated from MCC in 2021 with an associates in welding technology and now works at Lanoha Nurseries on West Center Road in its fabrication shop.
“If I would have been a little lost, struggling a little bit, or didn’t know where to go, Avenue Scholars would have absolutely done everything in their power to get me an interview,” she said. “I’m just so grateful that something like this exists.”
Avenue Scholars has intersected with more than 1,760 unique employers since 2014. One of those is QLI: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Specialists, a world-class rehab center in Northwest Omaha.
Melissa Elvig, coordinator of QLI’s IMPACT Workforce Development Program, has personally witnessed more than 100 students who were interested in a health-focused career come through the door.
“We’ve been doing CME training with Avenue Scholars students and offering them internships over the years,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to be able to be a part of their mission and to help these students through these programs and work alongside them. Avenue Scholars is addressing the challenges and barriers some young adults are facing, especially in our community, and helping them pursue meaningful careers. The empowerment they give these students leads them to see their full potential.”
After nearly two decades at the helm of Avenue Scholars, Dr. Bird is stepping down from his role as CEO and passing the torch to President/COO Lindsay Decker. The Board of Directors—Chairperson Susie Buffett, Director Jeff Schmid, Director Calvin Sisson, and Director Melissa Elvig, Ph.D.—will continue providing guidance and support for the program. Dr. Bird has the utmost confidence in Decker and the rest of the staff to propel the program forward, as does Elvig.
“Dr. Bird is passionate about investing in the next generation and growth of these students,” she said. “It’s reflected in everything you see—from the program to the staff. In the five years participating with them, there’s been so much growth in the program. His vision and ability to communicate his mission to others is a huge testament to him and his leadership.
“Right now he’s planning for succession and that takes a lot, but he’s bringing others alongside him. He’s built up these fantastic leaders like Lindsay, who will be taking that lead. The whole program is going to live and thrive far beyond him.”
Admittedly, stepping down was a difficult decision for Dr. Bird. After all, the mission behind Avenue Scholars is intensely personal. Growing up in a blue collar family, college was a pipe dream, but through his work at Westside and the support of his peers, he was able to earn multiple degrees. “I would have been an Avenue Scholars kid,” he said.
He continued, “It’s my baby, so it’s very hard. It was very hard to retire from Westside. Selfishly, I’d tell you I had the best superintendency in the midwest. It was just a great school district, great board, and had lots of community support. But I thought the time was right for new leadership there and honestly, I wanted to try something different. I didn’t know what it was going to be. It became this. Avenue Scholars is harder. It literally came from a blank page, a lot of my own personal experiences and what I thought we needed in education.”
Even as Dr. Bird prepares to vacate his position, his focus remains on his past, present, and future Scholars. In fact, he hopes the Nebraska Department of Education will one day embrace the Avenue Scholars business model.
“We have these young people that were in horrible situations, and we know there’re so many of them,” he said. “We’re only scratching the surface in here. Our best hope is to be a best practice, to be able to show off what can be done. My hope is the Department of Education could do some things with their funding formula to support this. I know they’re looking at it. What we’re doing is not rocket science. It doesn’t take extraordinary efforts. It just takes organization, a focus on these kids, and meeting them at their needs.
“Organizationally, we’ve redefined success. After 38 years at Westside, I measured success in grade point averages, courses completed, and degrees and scholarships earned. That was success for me. But the reality is, if you can graduate from high school, be equipped to get the training and support to get a meaningful job, that has a clear ladder to a career pathway, that’s success.”
To learn more, visit avescholars.org.
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
