The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Minne Lusa Elementary School
Minne Lusa Elementary School is a regular public school in Omaha, Nebraska, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of Omaha Public Schools. It sits within a residential area of the city, roughly midway between downtown Omaha and the northern city limits. The school enrolls a few hundred students, making it a small-to-midsize elementary by District 66 standards.
The student body is majority Black, with a little over half of students identifying as Black. White students make up a substantial minority, followed by Hispanic students, students of two or more races, Asian students, and a small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, nor were counts of students with disabilities or English learners. Given the demographic profile and the neighborhood context, a parent may want to ask the district for those figures to better understand the level of economic diversity and the range of student supports in place.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results show that zero percent of tested students in grades three through five scored proficient in math, English language arts, or science. That represents a sharp decline from a prior year in which roughly a third of students were proficient in ELA, though that earlier figure also sat well below the state average. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter among districts in Douglas County. State testing data is the only systematic measure available for this grade band; there is no graduation rate because the school does not serve high school grades. The district has not reported chronic absenteeism figures for this school, so the connection between attendance and performance is unclear.
These are very low proficiency numbers, and any family considering Minne Lusa should be aware that the school is working from a low academic baseline. The district recently launched a major literacy initiative called Moonshot, a multi-year commitment to have all students reading on grade level by 2030 using a Science of Reading approach and structured literacy curriculum. That initiative is embedded in the district’s current strategic plan, so families enrolling a young child now would see this emphasis on foundational reading skills throughout the primary years. Whether the initiative will move the proficiency needle is not yet visible in the data.
The wider housing context makes the school’s neighborhood relatively affordable within the Omaha area. Home values in the surrounding zip code are notably lower than the state median, and rents are moderate. The local economy is strong, with several Fortune 500 headquarters in the city and a metro GDP that ranks among the larger Midwest economies. Omaha itself is a large, diverse city with a walkable downtown core, major cultural institutions such as the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Joslyn Art Museum, and a professional sports scene built around the College World Series. Much of the built environment outside the center is car-oriented suburban development, and Minne Lusa’s immediate area fits that pattern.
What is missing from the public record is substantial. There is no reported information on course offerings, extracurricular programs, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or whether the school receives Title I funding. The school’s website was not included in the data, so a parent would need to visit or contact the principal to learn about after-school programs, parent engagement, and specific classroom supports. A school of this size in a large urban district often provides free breakfast and lunch, but without the FRPL data that cannot be confirmed here.
Minne Lusa Elementary is a neighborhood school in an affordable part of Omaha, serving a predominantly Black student body, with academic performance that is very low by state and county measures. The district is putting significant resources into early literacy, and that may be the single most relevant factor for a family choosing this school. For a parent who values proximity, a small school environment, and the potential of a system-wide reading improvement effort, Minne Lusa could be a fit, but the current test scores make it an option worth investigating closely before enrolling.
See more original research from School Decision →