The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Science. The lowest is 55% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Engleman Elementary School
Engleman Elementary School serves the Grand Island community as a regular public school for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Grand Island Public Schools district, the public school system serving this mid-sized regional hub in central Nebraska. The school’s enrollment of several hundred students makes it a moderately sized elementary building for this grade band.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that makes up roughly a fifth of the school. Smaller numbers of Black, Asian, American Indian, and multiracial students are also present. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that is a meaningful but not dominant share of the student population. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or who are English learners was not available in the source materials; a parent may wish to ask the school directly about special education programming and English language support.
Academically, the picture is mixed and varies by subject and grade level. In English language arts, Engleman students across tested elementary grades recorded proficiency rates that clustered around the midpoint or a bit above, meaning roughly half or a little more of students met the state standard. Math results were wider in range, with a stronger showing in fourth grade than in third or fifth grade. Science, tested only in fifth grade, showed a notably high share of students reaching proficiency. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed below the midpoint among districts in Hall County. That county-level comparison shows a range of performance, and Engleman sits on the lower end relative to its district peers. A parent considering the school should note that these results represent a single year of state testing and that the available trend data is limited to one year, making it impossible to assess direction of change from the numbers here.
No data was reported for chronic absenteeism or graduation rate. The graduation metric does not apply to an elementary school. The absence of chronic absenteeism data leaves a gap in understanding how regularly students attend; this is an area a parent could explore with the school.
The community context matters for families evaluating the school. Grand Island is a regional retail and manufacturing center with a significant agricultural footprint, hosting the Nebraska State Fair and a large number of manufacturing plants. Several major employers anchor the local economy, including a major ammunition manufacturer, two hospitals, and a major freight rail hub. The city is largely auto-dependent, with a demand-responsive transit system rather than fixed-route buses. The historic downtown Railside district provides a more walkable pocket of dining and entertainment, but residential neighborhoods are spread out across the city. Housing values in the area are moderately below national levels, while rents have been rising faster than the national average, reflecting a competitive rental market.
The district recently opened a new elementary school in the past several years, which affected attendance boundaries and school capacity across the district. No other major parent-relevant changes were found in available public reporting.
For a family trying to decide whether this school fits, a few considerations stand out. The student body is economically diverse, with a substantial share of families qualifying for meal assistance, and the racial composition is majority white with a sizeable Hispanic minority. Academically, the school’s performance is uneven, with a relative strength in the science results for fifth graders but math and reading results that are lower than some other schools in the same county. A parent who values a neighborhood elementary with moderate enrollment and a mixed academic profile may find Engleman a reasonable match, while a parent prioritizing top-tier test scores across all subjects may want to investigate further or compare with other options in the district.
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