The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Science. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sunset Hills Elementary School
Sunset Hills Elementary School serves a pocket of west Omaha that feels different from the city's older, denser neighborhoods. The school sits in Westside Community Schools, a district that draws from a largely residential part of town, and the numbers reflect a community of some affluence. Homes in the immediate area have an estimated typical value well above the national figure, and the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals is quite low. A family moving here should expect a peer group where economic disadvantage is not the norm.
The school runs from prekindergarten through sixth grade, with a total enrollment that is small for an elementary building serving that range. Class groups cluster in the mid-thirties to about fifty per grade, which keeps things manageable. The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Asian, Black, and multiracial students. The school does not appear to have a magnet or charter designation, and it functions as a regular neighborhood school.
Academically, the picture is uneven across grades and subjects, and a parent will want to pay attention to the details. In the most recent state assessments, the school posted notably strong results for its grade three math group, where a large majority of students met proficiency. Grade six math was at a similarly high level. Grade four English language arts also showed a strong proficiency rate. On the other hand, the assessment data recorded a zero-percent proficiency figure for several tested grade-subject combinations, including third grade English language arts, fourth grade math, and fifth grade math and English language arts. These zeros are unusual for a building where other grades tested well, and they are worth a direct conversation with the school to understand whether they reflect a reporting issue, a cohort-specific challenge, or something else. Science results, available only for grade five, were quite strong.
When compared against other elementary schools within Douglas County, the school's overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile. That is a soft spot. The county contains many high-performing suburban districts, and the competition is stiff, but a bottom-quartile rank is a signal that this school's results do not match the top tier of its neighbors. A family with high academic expectations may want to look further into how the school supports students who are not meeting benchmarks and whether the zeros in particular grades are a one-year anomaly or a pattern.
A graduation rate is not applicable because the school does not serve high school grades. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, and English learner populations were not available in the record, so those pieces of the picture are missing.
The school building itself is in a west Omaha setting. Omaha is Nebraska's largest city, a metro area anchored by several Fortune-level corporate headquarters and a diversified economy. The city has a walkable core around the Old Market and the RiverFront, but Sunset Hills sits in a more suburban, car-dependent stretch of town. The surrounding housing stock is valued well above the state median and also above the national median, and recent price trends show continued modest appreciation. Rents in the zip code are above the national average as well, reinforcing the pattern of a relatively high-cost, high-income pocket within the broader Omaha area.
The district, Westside Community Schools, did not have any recent major policy changes, referendums, or curriculum shifts flagged in public sources. It appears to be operating in a stable administrative context.
Sunset Hills Elementary offers a small-school environment in an affluent west Omaha neighborhood. The academic results have real bright spots, particularly in upper-grade math and science and in fourth grade reading, but the presence of multiple grade-subject combinations showing zero proficiency is an open question that demands an answer from the school. For a family that values a tight-knit, low-poverty elementary setting and is comfortable asking pointed questions about instruction and intervention, this school could be a fit. For a family that wants consistently strong test performance across every grade, the mixed record gives reason to probe further.
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