Longfellow Elementary School, Scottsbluff NE

Original Research by School Decision on Longfellow Elementary School

Longfellow Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary school in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. It is one of six neighborhood elementary schools in the Scottsbluff Public Schools district, a system that also includes one middle school and a high school that functions as a career academy. The school is located on Fifth Avenue in a residential area of the city.

Enrollment runs at a moderate size for an elementary school serving these grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who identify as American Indian, Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or multiracial. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not available in the reporting, so a family with specific support needs may want to check with the school directly.

State testing results for the most recent school year show a mixed picture across subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates in third, fourth, and fifth grade vary, with fourth grade the strongest. In English language arts, fourth grade again stands out as the high point, while third and fifth grades are notably softer. Science, tested only in fifth grade, reaches a level that families may consider solid. Overall, when measured across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Scotts Bluff County. That broad comparison is based on a small number of districts in the county, but it suggests that the school’s results are lower than the county midpoint. Because the reported trend data covers only a single year, it is not possible to see whether performance has been shifting over time. A parent looking for a more detailed picture of year-to-year change would need to ask the school or district directly.

Scottsbluff itself is the largest city in the Nebraska Panhandle and functions as a regional retail, health care, and service hub for western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. The local economy is anchored by agriculture, especially sugar beet growing and processing, and by a regional hospital that is the area’s largest employer. Housing values in Scottsbluff are below both the state and national averages, which may be a factor for families considering a move. The city has a stable population, with steady but not rapid growth. Public transit is available on weekdays but not weekends, and daily errands generally require a car.

The district recently went through a notable facility planning episode. In 2024, voters rejected a bond measure that would have funded a new elementary school and renovations at multiple buildings. The school board afterward discussed either putting a smaller bond before voters or addressing facility needs in phases without borrowing. That leaves the condition of school buildings, including Longfellow, as an open question for families. No specific information about the physical state of Longfellow Elementary itself was available in the reporting.

The school does not offer programs that would typically appear in a high school profile, such as Advanced Placement or career and technical education pathways, because it serves only elementary grades. No data on discipline, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism was provided, so a family wanting to understand day-to-day school climate or teacher experience would need to seek that information from the school or district office.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 67% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 55 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 58% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 64 pts above state median · ▲ 64 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 69% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 54 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 56% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 51% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 60% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 88% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▲ 64 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolSCOTTSBLUFF 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

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income54%Higher-income86%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income84%36 pp gap