Ponca Public Schools, NE

Original Research by School Decision on Ponca Public Schools

Ponca Public Schools serves the town of Ponca and the surrounding area in Dixon County, Nebraska. It covers pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, and the district's three schools are Jackson Elementary, Ponca Elementary School, and Ponca High School. The total student body is quite small, and the student population is overwhelmingly white, with small numbers of students who are Hispanic, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or of two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the share of students with an Individualized Education Program, and the share of English learners were not provided. Because the state suppressed results when testing groups were very small, the district has many gaps in its state assessment data for math and some gaps in science, though participation rates in testing were high where reported.

The clearest picture comes from English language arts. In grades three through eight, the proportion of students scoring proficient or above on the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System was consistently above a strong threshold across every grade for which data was reported. Sixth graders showed the highest rate, while seventh graders showed the lowest, but all reported grades landed in a range that families typically associate with solid performance in reading and writing. In math, only fourth grade had a reported proficiency rate, and it too was high. Results for the other elementary and middle school math grades, as well as for fifth-grade and eighth-grade science, were suppressed, meaning the tested groups were too small to release publicly. This means a parent cannot easily compare this district to others on most math and science measures; the available data is limited to a few grade levels.

For high school outcomes, the data is missing the four-year graduation rate. A family looking at the district's high school will want to ask the school directly for its graduation numbers, as that measure is a standard indicator. The chronic absenteeism rate, however, is available and is a notable strength. It falls in the top quartile among Dixon County's districts, meaning very few students miss a substantial number of school days. This points to a school environment where daily attendance is the norm.

On spending, the district's per-pupil current expenditure lands in the lower range of the county's two districts. That does not necessarily signal a problem, but a family may wish to understand what the district prioritizes with its budget, especially given the small size of the system.

The housing context in the area is fairly mixed. Home values in the zip codes that feed into the district vary from a lower level in one area up to a higher level in another, with the town of Ponca itself sitting toward the upper end of that spread. The weighted average for the district is a bit below the state benchmark for Nebraska but noticeably below the national benchmark, which makes the area more affordable relative to the country as a whole. The monthly mortgage estimate on a median-priced home is moderate by national standards, though rising mortgage rates mean carrying costs have increased recently.

Program offerings, advanced coursework, career and technical education pathways, and details on class sizes and teacher experience were not included in the data. The research conducted on the district found little of lasting impact in terms of recent changes, so any major capital projects, boundary shifts, or instructional reforms that may have happened are not accounted for here. A parent considering Ponca will want to visit the schools and ask about the specifics of the high school curriculum, the availability of extracurriculars, and how the small student body shapes the academic and social experience. The district's academic picture, as far as it can be seen, shows a school system where elementary reading and writing results are consistently good and chronic absenteeism is low, set in a modestly priced rural housing market.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

441

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 2%

Black 2%

White 94%

Asian 0%

Two+ 1%

Am. Indian / AK Native 1%

Schools in this District

3 schools are officially reported under this district.

JACKSON ELEMENTARY

PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PONCA HIGH SCHOOL

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

1 grade reported

80%

Grade 4

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

78%

Grade 3

71%

Grade 4

70%

Grade 5

79%

Grade 6

61%

Grade 7

68%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$257,079

Year-over-year change+7.6%

Range across 6 ZIP codes$210K to $327K

vs. state typical0.92x

vs. national typical0.70x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (6 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
68770	Ponca	$227K	+10.3%	60.5%
68743	Hubbard	$314K	+2.5%	31.1%
68741	Hubbard	$327K	+6.0%	1.6%
68710		$210K	+8.3%	1.5%
68757		$218K	+8.7%	0.5%
68731	Dakota City	$252K	+8.9%	0.4%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$1,297/mo

Home price / national median income3.1x

Comparison

State typical home value$279,080 (+3.4% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.