Image shows the Mandela Fest logo: Three curved lines with circles, an abstraction of a person, over the text 'Mandela FEST' in the school's colors of blue, green, yellow, and red

Mandela Fest is Saturday, July 19th!

We hope you can join us at Miller Park on Saturday, July 19th from 11:30-3:00.

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Nelson Mandela Elementary Home

Nelson Mandela Elementary School Grounds
A flyer with a yellow and white background advertising the alumni summer volunteer opportunity.
Scholar holding a violin
Hallway
Scholars on the playground
Scholars participating in class
Scholar writing at a desk

Our Mission

The mission of Nelson Mandela Elementary is to provide quality instruction that demonstrates ALL scholars can learn and develop academically, emotionally, socially, and physically. Nelson Mandela Elementary is committed to maximizing the educational success of all scholars and bridging the learning and achievement gaps.
Top 6 Reasons to Choose Nelson Mandela Elementary
1

Family Engagement

Intentional and meaningful family engagement does more than just support the child; it lays the groundwork for a future where family, community, and learning are intricately linked. 
2

Direct Reading Instruction

The science of reading with a phonics-based, direct, multidisciplinary approach to reading instruction, which results in strong reading outcomes, has been the cornerstone of our school. 
3

Year-Round School

Mandela offers a year-round schedule that helps address the academic “summer slide” and provides extensive enrichment experiences for scholars in the summer months. 
4

Violin for Every Child

Playing the violin creates positive learning outcomes, by improving reading comprehension, language, math, and attention skills.  It also emphasizes practice and teamwork.
5

Required Recess

Play is essential to building a child’s social-emotional skills. Scholars at Mandela have three required recesses daily, and recess is treated equally to other academic practices. 
6

Restorative Practices

Restorative practices and a consistent, responsive, social-emotional learning curriculum help scholars resolve conflicts and restore relationships in positive and peaceful ways. 
"Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world."

- Nelson Mandela

Mandela News

A 4th grade class is pictured in the courtroom at the Lincoln capitol

Newsletter 7/14/25

Check out our weekly newsletter for all of your need to know info each week!
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School Calendar

Click to view a one-page version of the 2024-2025 school calendar.
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Our Story

Scholars start every day with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the quote from Nelson Mandela listed above and our own addition, "and I will change the world with my Hope, Strength, Service, Unity, Peace, and Wisdom". We do believe that education is the most powerful and effective way to change the world. Scholars and all members of the Mandela Team commit to that each and every day. The foundations were determined after taking the colors of the logo, which came from the South African flag, and exploring values associated with those colors. Although purple is not part of the logo, it has become a key school color.