Stolley Park Elementary Earns $25,000 Excellence Grant
The Grand Island school receives funding after principal Whitney Flower wins a prestigious state leadership award.
Updated on Oct. 23, 2026 in Primary Education
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Stolley Park Elementary principal Whitney Flower has received the Lozier LIGHTS Outstanding Principal Award for her leadership. The school will receive a $25,000 grant, while Flower receives a $10,000 personal prize for significant gains in student testing.
Why it matters
The award recognizes Flower for driving substantial improvements in student math and reading proficiency at the Grand Island school. These academic gains directly impact the learning environment and resource levels for students and their families.
Stolley Park Elementary reported a 21 percent increase in second grade reading proficiency for the 2025-2026 school year. Additionally, the portion of math students on-track or advanced grew from 62 percent in 2023-2024 to 68 percent in the following year.
The players
Whitney Flower
The principal of Stolley Park Elementary School who was selected as a recipient of the Lozier LIGHTS award.
Lozier Foundation
An Omaha-based charitable organization that supports Nebraska elementary education through its leadership awards.
Stolley Park Elementary School
A Grand Island elementary school that serves local students and families.
The details
The Lozier Foundation presents the LIGHTS Outstanding Principal Award to three Nebraska elementary school leaders who demonstrate growth on MAP assessments. Principals qualify through measurable improvements in reading or math scores from fall to spring, as vetted by a panel of superintendents and education experts. The $25,000 grant provided to the school will be allocated by the school building leadership team to further support these educational initiatives.
Timeline
2021-2022 marked the beginning of the four-year math score comparison period.
October 23, 2026, was the official announcement date for the award recipient.
The Home Front
This award highlights a regional trend of tying school funding and institutional recognition directly to longitudinal improvements in standardized testing. It underscores the ongoing focus on measurable student outcomes within the state's public education infrastructure.
Parents at Stolley Park Elementary can monitor school communications to see how the $25,000 grant is eventually applied to student programming. Checking the school district's upcoming board meeting calendar may provide the earliest updates on these planned improvements.
The takeaway
This award recognizes the success of a local school leadership team in improving student proficiency across critical subjects. Families should watch for future updates on how the $25,000 in grant funding will be directed toward classroom resources or student support services.
Further reading
For more on how local schools are tracking student performance, visit our Primary Education section.
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