The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Science. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Waverly Intermediate School
Waverly Intermediate School serves grades three through five in the Waverly School District, a single system that covers this small, family-oriented suburb northeast of Lincoln. The school is one of four buildings in a district where students move from Evelyn Hamlow Elementary through Waverly Intermediate, then on to a dedicated middle school and high school, all within the same community. Waverly itself is a primarily residential town that has grown steadily over the decades, with a new subdivision under construction on the east side that is expected to add more homes. Commercial life is split between a compact downtown core and a strip along Highway 6. The town is part of the Lincoln metropolitan area, and its median home value sits a bit above the national benchmark, with a monthly mortgage estimate that is notably higher than typical rents, a pattern families weighing a purchase may want to consider.
The student body at Waverly Intermediate is large enough to support grade-level cohorts but small enough that most families will recognize the school as an intimate setting for these middle-elementary years. A little under a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in a middle range on economic diversity. The racial and ethnic composition of the school is distinctive: the student population is predominantly Hispanic, with White students making up most of the remainder. Families should know that the school does not have data reported on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so those dimensions of student support are not visible in the available records.
On state assessments, Waverly Intermediate’s results present a mixed picture. In science, fifth graders posted strong proficiency rates, a clear area of strength. In English language arts, proficiency across grades three through five fell in a moderate range, with the fourth-grade cohort performing at the higher end of that band. Math proficiency showed a similar pattern, with third-grade results trailing behind fourth and fifth grade. When the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects is compared against other elementary schools in Lancaster County, it lands in the bottom quartile among the handful of districts reporting. That positioning is worth a closer look: families may want to ask the school how it supports students who are below the proficiency benchmark and what interventions are in place, particularly in math and reading for the younger grade.
The academic trend data shows a multi-year decline in both math and English language arts proficiency when aggregating across grades, while science has held at a high level. Without year-over-year results from earlier years in the available data, it is hard to tell whether this represents a recent dip or a longer pattern, but the direction is something a parent may wish to discuss with the principal.
Waverly Intermediate is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and serves the family-oriented community it calls home. The district brief found no recent major initiatives, referendums, or curriculum changes to report, so the school’s programming appears stable in the near term. For a family living in or moving to this part of Lancaster County, the school provides a straightforward three-year intermediate step within a district that keeps students in the same town from kindergarten through high school. The academic numbers suggest that while science instruction is a standout, math and reading are areas where the school has work to do relative to its county peers, and a parent considering this school would be well served by asking how the school identifies and addresses those gaps.
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