St Libory Elementary School, St Libory NE

Original Research by School Decision on St Libory Elementary School

St. Libory Elementary School serves a small rural community that is experiencing renewed growth, and the school itself has a student body that reflects the area's agricultural and small-town character. The school enrolls students from preschool through eighth grade, making it a single-point school for families in this part of Howard County. After eighth grade, students would move on to a high school, likely within the Northwest Public Schools district, but no information about that next step was available in the data.

The student population is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives a sense of the economic diversity within the community. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and operates under the Northwest Public Schools district. No information was available on the school being a Title I school, nor were there data on the number of students with individualized education plans or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the special education and language support programs on offer.

The most striking feature in the academic data is that across every grade level tested and every subject, the proficiency rate is reported as zero. This covers math, English language arts, and science for grades three through eight. The multi-year trend data, however, shows a different picture for recent years. In the most recent year with reported results, the proficiency rate across all tested grades in English language arts was near the midpoint among a low benchmark, and in math it was below the midpoint, while in science it again showed zero. The earlier year in the trend shows English language arts proficiency much higher, above the midpoint, and math proficiency even higher, well above the midpoint. Science in the earlier year was also zero. This pattern of a reported zero in the most recent testing cycle across all subjects, following years with much stronger results that were in line with or above the district and county averages, is unusual and warrants a direct conversation with the school. The comparison data places the school's overall proficiency index below the midpoint relative to districts in Howard County, but that index relies on the zero figure. A parent should ask whether the school participated in state testing, whether a very small number of tested students affected the reported rate, or whether there was a data reporting issue. Without that explanation, the available data set is essentially incomplete for judging current academic performance.

The community context for St. Libory is that of a small unincorporated village that has long been tied to agriculture, particularly melon farming, with seasonal produce stands as a defining feature. The completion of a four-lane highway has spurred new construction, including a quick shop, a new community hall at the Catholic church, and new housing subdivisions. This growth is reversing a long period of population decline, and the community's housing values, as measured by a typical home, are above the state average. The school and the Catholic parish serve as the civic and social anchors, as there is no traditional downtown or public library. Walkability is limited to the immediate area around the highway, church, and school. For employment, most residents likely commute to nearby Grand Island or St. Paul.

No recent district-level changes or strategic priorities were found for Northwest Public Schools, so that information is simply absent from this account. The data on school environment, including discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance, was also not available, which means a family considering this school would want to gather those details directly from the school or district office. The school's small enrollment, combined with the very unusual testing data, makes it a place where a personal visit and a conversation with the principal would be the most informative next step.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 82% · ▼ 81 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 90% · ▼ 90 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 88% · ▼ 88 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 84% · ▼ 84 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 84% · ▼ 84 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 87% · ▼ 87 pts below district

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 77% · ▼ 76 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 85% · ▼ 85 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median

Grade 50%

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

even with state median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 60% · ▼ 60 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 65% · ▼ 65 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 70% · ▼ 70 pts below district

even with state median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 93% · ▼ 93 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 87% · ▼ 87 pts below district

even with state median

This schoolNORTHWEST 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.