The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on St Edward High School
St. Edward High School serves students in seventh through twelfth grade as a regular public school within the St. Edward Public Schools district. The school is located in the small rural city of St. Edward in Boone County, east-central Nebraska, a community set in the Beaver Valley along Beaver Creek. The town has historically been tied to agriculture, with grain companies and agricultural transport shaping its early business interests. The city’s website describes a relaxed, less hurried pace of life, and the population has been gradually declining. The town covers a small geographic area, making much of it walkable, with a downtown commercial strip along Beaver Street and a separate school campus rebuilt away from the core decades ago. Civic life centers on a town park with a band shell that hosted weekly summer concerts, a municipal swimming pool, and a public library. Major employers are limited; the school district itself is among the larger local employers, and many residents likely commute to nearby larger communities such as Columbus.
Enrollment is small, drawing from a modest student population. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic share. Information on students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as those receiving special education services or English learner support, was not available for this school, so a fuller picture of economic and academic need is incomplete.
State assessment results are reported for the seventh and eighth grades in math, English language arts, and science. For the most recent year, proficiency rates in all three subjects were at the lowest possible level, meaning no students in the tested grades met the state’s proficiency standard. This is a significant soft spot. A parent wanting to understand how the school addresses academic achievement at the middle-school level would be wise to discuss this directly with the school and ask about instructional strategies, intervention supports, and any additional assessments used. No state testing data was available for high school grades, so the academic performance of students in ninth through twelfth grade is not captured by these results. When placed among the two districts in Boone County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint of those districts, a relative position that reflects the district comparison set used rather than a wider state or national context.
The high school does not have a reported graduation rate in the available data. Programs such as Advanced Placement, dual-credit courses, or career and technical offerings were also not included, leaving a gap in understanding the breadth of academic pathways for older students.
The housing market in St. Edward is more affordable than the state average, with home values below the Nebraska median. This may appeal to families seeking lower housing costs in a rural setting. The local economy is modest, with income levels lower than the national median and a portion of the population below the poverty line.
This school fits families who want a very small, rural school environment where their child would be part of a tight-knit class. The academic picture at the middle-school level raises questions that would need to be explored directly with the school. For high school families, the lack of program data and graduation rate information means a thorough conversation with school staff is essential before forming a judgment about the upper grades. The surrounding community offers a quiet, slow-paced small-town life with limited commercial amenities and a declining population trend.
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