The top reported proficiency rate is 85% in Science. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Chase County Elementary School
Chase County Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in Imperial, the county seat of Chase County. This is a regular public school that feeds into Chase County Schools for the upper grades. With an enrollment that is small for a school serving these early grades, it operates as a straightforward neighborhood elementary school in a rural agricultural community.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic presence making up over a quarter of enrollment. A significant share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which in a small rural community like Imperial often reflects the realities of an agricultural economy where farm income can be variable. The data does not include counts of students with individualized education programs or English learners, so a parent wanting to understand special education or language support would need to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, the school shows a mixed picture that varies notably by grade level and subject. In math, third graders and fourth graders performed well, with a strong majority meeting proficiency standards. The school's fifth and sixth graders tested at zero percent proficiency in math, which is an unusual result. Given that the school only serves through fourth grade, this data for fifth and sixth graders appears to reflect students who have already moved on from this school, or it may reflect a data reporting artifact. A parent should verify how state testing results are attributed here. In English language arts, the third and fourth grade results were solid though not as strong as the math results at those same grade levels, while the fifth and sixth grade ELA results were weaker. In science, the fifth graders posted a very strong proficiency rate. The overall available data suggests that the school's core instruction in math and reading works well for its primary grade levels, but the pattern for older students is hard to interpret from this school alone.
Because this school only serves through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report here, and no high school course data. Parents of older children would look to the district's middle and high school programs for those indicators. The comparison data placed this school relative to other districts in Chase County, but the county has only two districts, so the comparison set is too small to draw meaningful distinctions.
Imperial itself is a compact rural town with a downtown centered on Broadway and the Chase County Courthouse. The community identifies strongly as an agricultural hub, and the city has actively pursued economic development, including grants for workforce housing and a commercial park for light industrial use. The population has seen a slow decline in recent years, a pattern common across much of rural Nebraska, but the city notes a trend of young people returning after time away. Housing values relative to national benchmarks are modest, and the area is far more affordable than the national market. The school is an integral part of the community, and the city's own promotional materials cite the schools as a draw.
The district brief indicated that publicly reported information on recent district-level changes was limited, so there is little to report on new programs, facility updates, or strategic shifts at the district level. Parents considering Chase County Elementary would be looking at a small, community-rooted school in a town that is stable but not growing, where the elementary grades show solid proficiency in the core tested subjects for the grades the school actually teaches. The open question marks are around how students perform in later grades and what supports are available for students who need extra help, since the special population data is absent. For a family that values a small-town environment, a school within walking or short-driving distance of home, and a setting where the school is woven into the fabric of the community, this school fits that profile well. For families accustomed to more data on student supports, a direct conversation with the principal would fill in the gaps.
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