The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in Science. The lowest is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hershey Elementary School
Hershey Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the small, agriculturally rooted village of Hershey, Nebraska. The school is part of Hershey Public Schools, the single K-12 system that functions as a community hub for the village and the surrounding rural area. Bus routes bring children in from the countryside, and the school sits within the compact village footprint, close to what remains of a small business district. Hershey’s population has been declining, and its economy is agricultural at heart, with a co-op and a family-owned lumber supply as longtime local fixtures. A parent considering this school should expect a setting where the school and the town are closely intertwined and where the community is small enough that most families know one another.
Academically, the state testing results from the most recent school year tell a mixed story that a parent will want to examine closely. In English language arts, the third-grade cohort posted a proficiency rate that looks reasonably solid relative to the broader state picture, but fourth and fifth grade showed no students reaching the proficient bar, while sixth grade came in around the halfway mark. Math results were a persistent concern across every tested grade, with no grade level showing students meeting the proficiency standard. Science, tested at fifth grade only, was a clear strength, with a large majority of students scoring proficient. This pattern of strong science performance alongside widespread difficulty in math and uneven results in reading suggests that while the school has areas of real success, foundational skills in math and, to a lesser degree, literacy may need attention. When compared alongside other districts in Lincoln County, Hershey Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed in the lowest quartile of the county’s districts. A parent moving to the area should ask the school directly about the supports available for students who are not yet at grade level in math and reading and about any recent changes to instruction or curriculum that might affect future results.
Student demographics reflect the surrounding community. The enrollment is almost entirely white, with a small Hispanic population and even smaller numbers of students identifying as two or more races or American Indian. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that economic need is a meaningful presence in the school, though not the dominant one. The school does not appear to report data on students with individualized education plans or English learners, so a parent whose child has special education needs or is learning English should confirm directly with the school what services and staffing are in place.
The school serves a single building within a small district, and no recent major district changes were identified in publicly available information, so the academic program appears stable in its broad outlines. There is no charter or magnet designation, and Title I status was not reported. Housing in the Hershey area is modestly priced relative to national benchmarks, with home values below the national median and monthly mortgage costs that are lower than typical rents in the broader market, though these figures come from a broader zip-code-level picture. The village itself has few commercial amenities, so most shopping, services, and employment likely require a drive to North Platte, about a dozen miles east.
For a family that values a small, rural school embedded in an agricultural community where everyone knows the school and the school knows every family, Hershey Elementary offers that kind of environment. The academic data, particularly in math, gives a parent a clear set of questions to bring to a visit. The school’s science results show that strong teaching and learning are possible here; the question is whether the same can be said for the rest of the core curriculum.
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