Original Research by School Decision on Esl Teen Literacy Program
The ESL Teen Literacy Program is a small alternative high school in Omaha, Nebraska, serving grades 9 through 12 and operating within the Omaha Public Schools district. As its name suggests, the program is designed for teenage English language learners who need to build literacy skills. The school is classified as an alternative school, which typically means it serves students whose needs are not well met in a traditional comprehensive high school setting. The program is located at an address on Burt Street, in the midtown area of Omaha.
The available data for this school is unusually sparse. Enrollment is reported as zero, which is a striking fact for a school that serves four grade levels. This likely indicates either a very small program, perhaps serving only a handful of students at a time, or a data reporting situation where the count is not meaningful. No breakdown by race or ethnicity is available beyond zero counts, and no information is given on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education status, or English learner status. The school does not report state assessment results, graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, staffing, or course access. Because the school is an alternative program, it may not participate in standard state testing in the same way as a regular high school, or the eligible student population may be too small to report. A parent looking into this program should be prepared to ask the school directly for the most current enrollment numbers, the specific criteria for student placement, and what academic outcomes are tracked.
Omaha is Nebraska’s largest city, a place shaped by the Omaha Tribe, pioneers, railroad workers, and meatpackers. The economy is anchored by a strong corporate presence, including major companies in finance, engineering, and logistics. The city has a walkable core in the Old Market and downtown areas, with cultural institutions and a riverfront park, while much of the broader city is car-dependent suburban development. Omaha Public Schools is the district that oversees this program. The district recently launched a major literacy initiative called Moonshot, with the goal of having all students reading on grade level by 2030, using a structured literacy curriculum based on the Science of Reading. That district-wide focus on reading may align with the mission of the ESL Teen Literacy Program, which is explicitly about literacy for English learners.
For a family considering this program, the key takeaway is that it is a specialized, alternative setting for high school students who are learning English and need intensive literacy support. The absence of standard metrics makes it impossible to evaluate the program on conventional measures like test scores or graduation rates. Any family considering this option should contact the school and Omaha Public Schools to understand how students are referred, what the typical student experience looks like, how progress is measured, and what the path to graduation or transition to a comprehensive high school entails. The program’s small size and focused mission may be a good fit for a particular set of students, but the data on the page does not provide enough to form a judgment about its effectiveness.
See more original research from School Decision →