The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kellom Elementary School
Kellom Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in Omaha, Nebraska. It sits within the Omaha Public Schools system, the largest district in the state. Located on North 24th Street in the city’s historic near-north side, the school draws from an urban neighborhood that, based on available data, is home to one of Omaha’s most racially and ethnically diverse elementary student bodies.
Enrollment is roughly the size typical of a neighborhood elementary school serving this grade span. The student population is majority Black, with substantial representation from Hispanic and Asian students, a smaller share of students who identify as white, and modest numbers of students who are Native American or of two or more races. The school’s zip code area has a median home value and rent that sit near the middle of the national range, and the neighborhood is part of a large, economically varied city. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, as well as counts of students receiving special education services or identified as English learners, were not available. That means a family considering Kellom will want to ask the school directly about its support programs and the level of economic need among its families.
State assessment results for the most recent school year show that across all tested grades (third through sixth) and all subjects (math, English language arts, and science), zero percent of students scored at the proficient level. This is a single year of data, but it places Kellom in the bottom quartile among all schools in Douglas County when measured by an overall proficiency index. The number is striking, and a parent would be right to ask the school what academic interventions and supports are in place, how the school uses assessment data to guide instruction, and what trends looked like in prior years. Because multi-year trend data were not available beyond the current year, it is not possible to say whether this is a long-standing pattern or a recent shift.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Because it is a regular school, the missing test results cannot be explained away by a special-population mission or a nontested grade band. The state testing program, Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS), applies to grades three through eight, and Kellom’s third through sixth graders participated. The reported proficiency rate of zero is an official figure, and the school’s position relative to other Douglas County schools is based on that figure.
Omaha Public Schools, the parent district, recently launched a district-wide initiative called Moonshot, aiming to have every student reading on grade level by 2030. The initiative centers on the Science of Reading and structured literacy, and it is embedded in the district’s strategic plan through 2030. For Kellom’s elementary grades, this means a sustained emphasis on foundational reading instruction rolled out across all district elementary schools. A family enrolling here would be entering a system that has publicly committed to a multi-year literacy turnaround effort.
Omaha itself is a major Midwestern city, home to Fortune 500 corporate headquarters and a range of cultural institutions. The school’s immediate neighborhood is urban and walkable in parts, though the city as a whole is spread out and car-dependent beyond the downtown core. Housing values in the area are moderate for the region, and the city’s economy is anchored by large employers in finance, insurance, transportation, and engineering.
For a parent weighing Kellom Elementary, the picture is straightforward. The school serves a diverse student body in an urban Omaha setting. Its academic data, as reported by the state, shows no students meeting proficiency benchmarks in the most recent testing year, and that places it among the lower-performing schools in the county. The district has named literacy improvement as its top strategic priority, a change that may affect instruction at Kellom in coming years. A conversation with the principal about current academic programs, intervention strategies, and recent progress is essential before forming a judgment.
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