OPS students welcomed

Omaha Public Schools started the new school year today, with school officials reporting few issues on the district's opening day.

"We had couple buses running late but nothing major this morning," said Luanne Nelson, OPS spokeswoman. "We would expect all the glitches to be taken care of by the end of the week."

OPS, the largest district in Nebraska, expects to have an enrollment of more than 49,000 students. The district won't have official attendance numbers until the end of next month.

At Mount View Elementary School, Superintendent John Mackiel and other officials welcomed back students. The school was the site of the Million Father March in Omaha, an effort sponsored by the Black Star Project to get dads more involved with their kids' education.

"My one wish for the 2011-12 students: read," Mackiel said.

Here's a look at some new OPS offerings this school year:

� Nathan Hale Magnet Middle School will offer a course in Ethical Literacy. The goal is to develop a "culture of integrity." The Ethical Literacy website is ethical-literacy.org.

� Omaha South High School will offer a video gaming design program.

� Lewis and Clark Middle School is becoming an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Candidate School.

� Omaha Northwest High School has turned an area into a courtroom to enhance the school's magnet theme of Pre-Law/Government and International Diplomacy.

� Bryan Middle School is beginning a new character development program based on "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens."

� A new EMT program is being offered at the Career Center. Students in the program will have dual enrollment with Creighton University. The space will include a simulated ambulance.