The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 56% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cottonwood Elementary School
Cottonwood Elementary School serves students from preschool through fifth grade in Omaha, Nebraska, as part of Millard Public Schools. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is small for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic and Black students, and a modest number of students who identify as two or more races. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that is moderate by local standards. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials; a parent may wish to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports they offer.
The academic picture comes from the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System administered in the 2024-25 school year. On state tests in math and English language arts, Cottonwood Elementary’s proficiency rates vary by grade level but hover around the middle of the range for elementary schools in Douglas County. In math, the share of students meeting proficiency was higher in third and fifth grades than in fourth grade. In English language arts, fifth graders posted the highest proficiency rates among the tested grades. Science is assessed only in fifth grade, and a strong majority of those students demonstrated proficiency. When the school’s overall performance across all tested subjects and grades is compared with that of other districts across Douglas County, Cottonwood Elementary sits below the midpoint of the cohort. That comparison is limited by the fact that it is against districts rather than individual schools, but it still gives a useful reference point. A parent exploring options may want to ask the school’s leadership about the areas where scores are lower and what strategies are in place.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism data was available in the provided records.
The surrounding community is Omaha, Nebraska’s largest city and the county seat of Douglas County. The city is anchored by four Fortune 500 headquarters and a broad base of employers in finance, engineering, agriculture, and logistics. The economy is diversified, and the metro area has seen modest population growth in recent years. Within the city, Cottonwood Elementary sits in a zip code where home values are above the state median and rents have been rising at a moderate pace. The neighborhood likely draws families employed in the region’s corporate and professional sectors, and the housing market is priced well above the national typical home value. The school’s location in west Omaha places it in a suburban-style, car-dependent part of the city, away from the denser downtown and historic Old Market district. Millard Public Schools itself did not report any recent major changes in the data we examined, so a parent may want to check the district website for updated strategic priorities or program shifts.
For a family, Cottonwood Elementary offers a small, regular public school setting within a large, economically robust city. The student body is not highly diverse racially, and economic diversity is moderate. Academically, the school produces results that are not among the strongest in the county but show pockets of solid performance, particularly in fifth-grade science. Parents who are weighing options in west Omaha will find that Cottonwood’s proficiency numbers, while below the county midpoint, are still within a range that many families consider workable. The school’s elementary-only span means that any transition to middle school will come quickly. A conversation with the principal about how the school addresses gaps in math and reading, and about the level of individual support for students who are not yet proficient, would be a reasonable next step for anyone considering this school.
See more original research from School Decision →