The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Edison Elementary School
Edison Elementary School is a regular public school in Omaha Public Schools, serving preschool through fifth grade. It is one of dozens of elementary buildings in Nebraska’s largest district, and the profile that emerges from the available data is of a school with a diverse student body and a recent history of very low state assessment results, set within a city with broad economic and cultural resources.
The student population is diverse. White students make up the largest single group, followed closely by Black students, with smaller but sizable populations of students who identify as two or more races, Hispanic students, and Asian students. A small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students are also enrolled. Free and reduced-price lunch data, a common proxy for household economic need, was not reported, so it is not possible to gauge the share of families facing lower income from that measure alone. The school serves a full range of elementary grades and has an enrollment that is moderate for this grade band.
The central and most challenging fact about Edison is its performance on Nebraska’s state assessments. The most recent year’s results show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were reported at a very low level. In each tested grade and subject, the percentage of students scoring proficient was below the point that would signal a typical outcome. Overall, looking across tested subjects and grades, the school’s composite proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other elementary schools in Douglas County. A multi-year trend line is available but inconclusive; it shows a wide range of results in recent years, but the most current data point is the very low one. The district itself has a major initiative underway. In 2024, Omaha Public Schools launched its “Moonshot” commitment to have all students reading on grade level by 2030, using a Science of Reading and structured literacy approach. This is a district-wide, multi-year pedagogical shift. For a family considering Edison, this means the reading instruction their child receives is likely to be part of a deliberate, centrally driven change, but the effects of that change will not be visible in test scores for several years.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, discipline, and special education or English learner populations were not available in the provided records. A parent who wants a picture of the school’s learning environment, class sizes, or how the school supports students with disabilities or those learning English would need to contact the school or district directly, as those details are not captured here.
The school sits within Omaha, the state’s largest city and the economic engine of the region. Omaha is home to four Fortune 500 headquarters including Berkshire Hathaway and Union Pacific, along with major firms in banking, engineering, and insurance. Its downtown and historic Old Market district offer restaurants, shops, and cultural institutions like the Durham Museum and Joslyn Art Museum. The Henry Doorly Zoo is a major regional attraction. The residential area around 97th Street where Edison is located is part of Omaha’s broad, car-dependent suburban-style fabric, outside the city’s walkable core. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are around the statewide benchmark, and rents have been rising modestly. The area’s housing costs relative to income suggest that owning a home is less affordable than the national average, while renting is slightly more affordable.
For a family, Edison Elementary is a school that will serve a child from preschool through fifth grade within a large, urban district that is attempting a major curricular overhaul in literacy. The academic picture from the most recent state tests is a significant concern. The school’s demographic diversity is a plain characteristic, not inherently positive or negative, but it may matter to a family seeking a setting that reflects the broader community. The absence of data on free lunch rates, special education, and English learner services means the full picture of who the school serves and how it supports them is incomplete. The district’s Moonshot initiative is a concrete and stated effort to raise reading outcomes, but the timeline is long, and the current results are what they are. A parent considering Edison would want to ask the school directly about how the Moonshot approach is being implemented in the classroom, what support is available for students who are behind, and what the school’s own data shows about progress in recent years beyond the state test snapshot.
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