Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School, Omaha NE

Original Research by School Decision on Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School

Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School sits within Omaha Public Schools, serving grades six through eight. It is a regular public school, not a charter, and its magnet designation is not specified in the available data.

The school is large for a middle school, with an enrollment that places it well above what many area middle schools serve. The student body is diverse: the largest group is white, followed by Black and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of students who are Asian, two or more races, or American Indian or Alaska Native. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of socioeconomic and academic support resources on site.

Academically, the picture is mixed. On the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System for the most recent testing year, math proficiency rates were roughly in the low to mid thirties for students in grades six and seven, and slightly higher for grade five. Eighth graders had no reported math proficiency, which a parent may want to follow up on. In English language arts, proficiency was around two in five students in grade five and climbed to just over half of eighth graders. Science proficiency, tested in grades five and eight, was notably stronger: roughly two-thirds of fifth graders and close to three-fifths of eighth graders scored proficient. An overall proficiency index that averages across tested subjects and grades places this school in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Douglas County. That comparison set includes high-performing peers, and the index suggests that across the board, the school’s tested results are below the middle of the pack for the county. State-level trend data, available only for a single year, does not show a multi-year trajectory.

Because Alice Buffett is a middle school, it does not produce a high school graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported. The school’s locale classification was not provided in the available data.

Omaha, the city where the school is located, is Nebraska’s largest city and the county seat of Douglas County. It is a major economic hub, home to four Fortune 500 headquarters and a metro area with a large GDP. The city has a defined downtown core with cultural institutions and an entertainment district, though the city spans a large area and much of it is built on a suburban pattern. Housing in the school’s ZIP code, based on the most recent data available, is priced slightly above the state benchmark, with rents that have been rising. The local housing market shows a mild annual decline in home values on the most recent reading.

Parents considering this school will want to know that Omaha Public Schools, the parent district, has a notable new initiative. In 2024, the district launched a long-term literacy effort called Moonshot, which commits to having all students reading on grade level by 2030. It is built on the Science of Reading and structured literacy, and it is embedded in the district’s strategic plan through 2030. This means that the reading instruction approach in the district’s middle schools is part of a deliberate, multi-year shift. Families with students at Alice Buffett may see this reflected in curriculum and classroom practice, especially in the earlier middle grades.

For a family weighing options, Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School offers a diverse, large middle school setting in a city with a strong economy. Academically, its science results are a clear relative strength, while math and English language arts performance sit below the county median. A parent may want to visit the school, ask about the gap in reported eighth-grade math scores, and learn more about how the district’s Moonshot literacy initiative is being implemented at the middle school level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 35% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 24% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 24% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 23% · ▼ 23 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 40% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 37% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 36% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 42% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 70% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 67 pts above state median · ▲ 67 pts above county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 51% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolOMAHA 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income66%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income62%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income68%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income64%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income71%39 pp gap