Mary Lynch Elementary, Kimball NE

Original Research by School Decision on Mary Lynch Elementary

MaryLynch Elementary is the sole public elementary school in Kimball, Nebraska, serving students from prekindergarten through sixth grade. It operates as a regular public school within the Kimball Public Schools district, a small rural district that covers this Panhandle community. The school is housed at 1000 East 6th Street, situated within the town’s residential grid rather than on a separate campus, reflecting the integrated small-town character of Kimball itself.

Kimball is a rural county seat with a population that places it among the smaller communities in western Nebraska. Its economy draws on agriculture, a wind farm, oil and gas producers, and a chemical waste incineration facility. The U.S. Air Force Sentinel program, which is modernizing missile silos in the surrounding area, is expected to bring contractor and construction activity, adding to a stretch of development that already includes a new hospital being built by Kimball Health Services. The town also has a historic theatre, two parks, a municipal pool, a golf course, and a weekly newspaper. Housing values in the area are well below state and national medians, making it a relatively affordable place for families. Publicly reported information points to a community that is accustomed to a mix of energy, defense, and service-sector employment.

Mary Lynch Elementary enrolls a comparatively small student body, overwhelmingly White, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and even smaller numbers of students who identify as American Indian, Asian, or two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that reflects the economic realities of the area. Data on special populations such as students with disabilities or English learners was not reported in the available records, so the school’s support resources in those areas are not clear from this information alone.

State assessment results for the most recent testing year show proficiency rates reported at very low levels across all tested subjects and grade levels. This pattern is unusual and may reflect reporting issues or a testing circumstance that is not fully explained by the data available here. A parent considering the school would want to contact the school directly to understand how students are performing on state benchmarks and what measures are in place to support academic growth. The multi-year trend data included in the record suggests that prior year results were higher, but the current snapshot raises questions that only the school and district can clarify.

No information was available on course access, staffing ratios, discipline, or chronic absenteeism for Mary Lynch. The district itself did not appear to have undergone any recent major policy changes or referendums that would affect families, based on publicly reported materials.

In sum, Mary Lynch Elementary serves a small, predominantly White student body in a rural Nebraska town with a modest but evolving economic base. Its housing market is affordable compared with much of the country, and the town has several community amenities. The school’s academic picture is unclear from the state testing data on hand, and families would be well served to speak with school staff about classroom instruction and support services before making enrollment decisions.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 47% · ▼ 47 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 75% · ▼ 75 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 68% · ▼ 68 pts below district

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 61% · ▼ 61 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 64% · ▼ 64 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

even with state median

This schoolKIMBALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income60%Higher-income56%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income69%29 pp gap