Blumfield Elementary School, Omaha NE

Original Research by School Decision on Blumfield Elementary School

Blumfield Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and is part of Ralston Public Schools, a small district within Omaha. For a family considering this school, the first thing to understand is its student body. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, and the racial and ethnic composition is diverse, with a mix of Hispanic, white, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. This is a school where a child will encounter peers from many backgrounds, which is a plain characteristic of the environment rather than a strength or weakness.

Academically, the state testing data for the most recent school year shows a proficiency rate of zero percent across all tested subjects and grade levels. The multi-year trend data provides a fuller picture. In earlier years, the school posted proficiency rates in English language arts around the mid to upper thirties, and in math near half of students, with science results varying. The most recent year's results, however, are a sharp departure from those earlier numbers. A parent should look into this further with the school to understand what changed. It could reflect a shift in the test, a change in the student population taking it, or an instructional challenge. The school's overall proficiency index, when compared to other districts in Douglas County, places it in the bottom quartile. This is a soft spot that warrants attention.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Information on special education and English learner populations was not provided, which is a gap a parent may want to ask the school about directly.

The neighborhood around Blumfield sits within Omaha, a large city and the economic center of Nebraska. The local housing market shows home values and rents that are modest relative to national benchmarks, and the area is generally affordable compared to many parts of the country. The city's economy is anchored by major corporate headquarters, and the metro area has seen modest population growth. For a family living in this part of Omaha, the school is a neighborhood elementary option within a larger urban context.

At the district level, Ralston Public Schools has made some notable recent investments. Voters approved a bond issue a few years ago that funded a replacement elementary school, additions at the high school, security upgrades across all schools, and HVAC and infrastructure work. The district structured the bond to avoid raising the property tax levy, so residents did not see a new tax burden from the improvements. Separately, the district adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading, with teacher training carried out over two school years. This is a concrete pedagogical shift that could affect how reading is taught at Blumfield.

For a family weighing this school, the environment is a diverse, lower-income elementary school in a mid-sized urban district that has recently invested in facilities and literacy instruction. The test results for the most recent year are a significant concern and should be a starting point for conversation with the school. Without more information on why proficiency rates dropped so sharply, a parent cannot fully assess the current academic trajectory. The school's earlier results suggest it has been capable of higher performance, which makes the recent data all the more important to investigate.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 56% · ▼ 56 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 61% · ▼ 61 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 62% · ▼ 61 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 52% · ▼ 52 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 41% · ▼ 41 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 51% · ▼ 51 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 48 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 52% · ▼ 52 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 44% · ▼ 44 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 78% · ▼ 78 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

This schoolRALSTON 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 4Lower-income36%Higher-income62%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income57%16 pp gap