Lincoln CLC team supports LPS students from new home

February 12, 2026

A simple change of address is helping Lincoln Community Learning Centers staff members change lives of children throughout the city.
 
Lincoln CLC employees have moved into their new headquarters at the Bottler’s Building campus on 25th Street. The renovated office includes ten work cubicles, a meeting room and storage space for curriculum materials. The site’s seven employees are strengthening CLC programs at 22 elementary, six middle and three high schools across Lincoln.

 
Lincoln CLC Director Nola Derby-Bennett said the CLC team is already reaping benefits from the office. Conversations with community partners can now take place in a quiet office instead of a coffee shop or restaurant, and CLC board members can discuss important initiatives in a central meeting room for the first time. All staff members are now present at a single location, rather than spread across different buildings or classrooms.
 
“I would say just from a staff perspective, this is the first time our team has been able to sit at our desks and have a conversation with somebody over a cubicle wall,” Derby-Bennett said. “We’re all in the same space together, and I think that’s huge. Everybody here has said that it’s so much better because our team is more cohesive.”
 
Lincoln Community Foundation President Tracy Edgerton shared that excitement. Edgerton, who also serves as a CLC board tri-chair, said she has been pleased to watch the team settle in at the Bottler’s Building.
 
“It’s wonderful to see our CLC staff find their new home in the heart of Lincoln,” Edgerton said. “This updated office space will provide new opportunities for collaboration as they continue to uplift the people and programs that weave a culture of learning throughout our community.”

 
Students from 31 Lincoln Public Schools buildings take part in Lincoln CLC activities every year. The organization sponsors weekend and summer enrichment programs, after-school learning activities and multiple classes for youth, families and neighborhood residents.
 
Lincoln CLC won the inaugural Champions Award in the U.S. Department of Education’s Engage Every Student Recognition Program in 2024 for those high-quality services. The entity, which is partially funded by LPS, provides activities in science, technology, engineering, math, fine arts, physical fitness and prosocial learning subjects.
 
Approximately 10,000 students use Lincoln CLC services during the academic year, and more than 3,000 children take part in summer programs. Staff members help school community coordinators with curriculum, budget and family and neighborhood engagement tasks.
 
Family Service Lincoln provided free office space for the organization during its first 20 years. Derby-Bennett and other employees then spent five years in a pair of extra classrooms at Roper Elementary School. The arrangement gave Lincoln CLC time to continue expanding its programming until it could find a permanent home.
 
“Roper was so accommodating,” Derby-Bennett said. “They were so nice to be able to house us for all of that time.”
 
Space became available at the Bottler’s Building early last summer, and the office team worked with contractors to design a floorplan that would offer the best use of resources. They created space for many classroom materials in one corner of the building, and blank walls in the meeting room gave them chances to showcase student artworks. Three extra cubicles on another side of the main office provide workspace for visitors and flexibility for future staffing needs.
 
“The space gives us room for growth, and we also have opportunities for our agency partners to come work here too, if needed,” Derby-Bennett said. “That’s nice too.”

 
Derby-Bennett said employees are especially excited about the office’s central location in the city. It will allow them to reach every building more efficiently, particularly those schools on the eastern half of town. They previously had to factor in driving time from Roper when considering if they could travel to sites within their allotted workday schedules.
 
“It makes it so much easier for us to go out and support our sites,” Derby-Bennett said. “We’re just down the street from Elliott (Elementary), we’re right across the street from Lincoln High, we’re just down the street from Randolph (Elementary). We’re just closer, so I can see my staff going out to schools more often now because we’re not on the edge of town.”
 
Staff members are looking to capitalize on that momentum with potential new services for students. Lincoln CLC has partnered with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Public Policy Center to determine the feasibility of additional youth sports programming. The organization’s current Get in the Game initiative has helped children in grades K-5 at 20 elementary schools.
 
Derby-Bennett said she believes the new office symbolizes how Lincoln CLC is supporting both school and civic growth at all addresses in town.
 
“The work we do is bridging our school district with our community, so it’s a great representation of both of those things,” Derby-Bennett said.
 
Discover how Lincoln Community Learning Centers helps students with many enrichment activities and programs throughout the year.
 
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