The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kenwood Elementary School
Kenwood Elementary School is one of the regular public elementary schools in the Kearney Public Schools district, serving students from preschool through fifth grade. Located at 915 16th Avenue in Kearney, Nebraska, the school sits in a mixed residential and commercial part of a city that is also home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a regional retail and manufacturing hub. The school is not a charter or magnet school.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and small numbers of other racial groups. Roughly four in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a level that places it within a typical middle-range of economic need for the area. Enrollment runs from preschool through fifth grade, with a typical class-size feel for a mid-sized elementary school.
On the 2024-25 state assessments, Kenwood Elementary showed a mixed academic picture. In English language arts, proficiency varied notably by grade: third grade and fourth grade each had a little over half of students meeting the standard, while fifth grade dipped to just over a third. Math results were more uneven. Third grade had a moderate proficiency rate, but fourth and fifth grade reported none of their students as proficient. That is an unusual finding that a parent would want to explore directly with the school, as it could reflect a range of factors from small group sizes to assessment conditions. In science, tested only in fifth grade, the large majority of students scored proficient, a bright spot. The multi-year trend, comparing the most recent year to an earlier point, shows that overall proficiency across tested subjects had moved lower, though the data available does not allow a clean apples-to-apples trend due to assessment changes.
When placed among other districts in Buffalo County, Kenwood Elementary’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. This comparison is at the district level rather than school level, but it gives a rough sense that the school’s test performance trails many of its neighbors in the county. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data do not apply because this is an elementary school.
The community context matters for families considering this school. Kearney has a stable, growing economy anchored by Good Samaritan Hospital, the university, the Kearney Public Schools district itself, and manufacturers like Baldwin Filters. The city has seen steady population growth over the decades and benefits from its Interstate 80 location. Housing in the area has appreciated, with home values and rents above the state median but still closer to the national average than some parts of Nebraska. The neighborhood around Kenwood Elementary is a mix of older homes and newer subdivisions, with a short drive to downtown amenities like the Museum of Nebraska Art and the Viaero Event Center.
No information was available on the school’s special education or English learner populations, nor on its staffing levels, discipline rates, or course access. These gaps mean that a family with a child who might need additional support should reach out to the school office directly to learn about available services. The school’s website was not provided in the data, but the district office for Kearney Public Schools would be a starting point.
Kenwood Elementary offers a neighborhood school experience in a midsized Nebraska city with a college-town flavor. The academic results, particularly in upper-grade math, are areas that warrant a closer look. For a parent weighing options, the school's solid science performance and the community’s broader resources may balance concerns, but the district comparison suggests that other elementary schools in Buffalo County may have stronger overall test outcomes.
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