Willa Cather Elementary School, Omaha NE

Original Research by School Decision on Willa Cather Elementary School

Willa Cather Elementary School serves students in prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Millard Public Schools system in Omaha. It is a regular public school set in a residential part of the city, not a charter or magnet. The student body is modest in size and notably diverse. White students make up the largest single group, but a substantial share of students are Asian, and smaller groups include Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and Native American students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school’s economic need level below what you would see in many Omaha schools but still a meaningful share. The school does not appear to have a Title I designation in the most recent data, which fits that profile.

Academically, the school’s state assessment results present a mixed picture with distinct bright spots. In reading, proficiency is solid across the tested grades, with the upper grades showing particularly strong outcomes. Fifth-grade science results are the strongest subject area by a clear margin. Math tells a more complicated story. Third and fifth graders score in a moderate range, but fourth-grade math results were reported at a very low figure, far below any other grade or subject. This kind of isolated low score can have multiple explanations — a very small group of test takers, a data anomaly, or a real instructional gap — and a parent considering this school would want to discuss it directly with the school’s leadership. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school’s proficiency index lands below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Douglas County. That positioning means families should expect overall performance that is decent but not among the county’s top tier.

The school is part of the Millard district, which does not seem to have experienced major recent changes based on publicly available information. No notable program expansions or restructuring were flagged. This stability may appeal to families who want a predictable elementary experience.

Omaha itself is a large and economically strong city. The area around the school is a typical suburban-style neighborhood within the city limits. Home values in the school’s zip code are somewhat below the national average, and rents are moderate for a metro area of this size. The housing market here is more accessible than in many comparable midwestern cities, and the neighborhood feels like a settled, car-dependent part of Omaha rather than a dense urban core.

The school offers no data on course access, staffing ratios, or disciplinary climate, so those are open questions for a family to pursue on a visit. Because it serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to consider, and chronic absenteeism figures were not available. The absence of that data does not reflect poorly on the school — elementary schools often do not report those metrics in the same way secondary schools do — but it does mean a parent will need to gather that information from the school or district directly.

Willa Cather Elementary is best suited for a family looking for a stable, mid-sized elementary school in a diverse, moderately priced Omaha neighborhood. The academic results suggest good reading instruction and strong science outcomes, with a math soft spot that warrants a closer look. The school does not have the profile of a high-poverty school, and its diversity is genuine rather than token. For a parent weighing options within Millard, this school offers an unflashy but solid foundation, with one outlier worth investigating.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 73% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 63 pts above state median · ▲ 63 pts above county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 74% · ▼ 74 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 74% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 67 pts above state median · ▲ 67 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 72% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 64 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 75% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 73% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 80 pts above state median · ▲ 80 pts above county median

Science

Grade 587%

School 87% · District 92% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 87 pts above state median · ▲ 87 pts above county median

This schoolMILLARD 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 4Lower-income50%Higher-income81%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income54%Higher-income88%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income79%29 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income74%27 pp gap