Kearney Public Schools

Summary:

The Kearney Public Schools district in Nebraska consists of 14 schools, including 11 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. The district as a whole is ranked 41 out of 115 in Nebraska and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as top performers. Meadowlark Elementary School and Windy Hills Elementary School are both ranked in the top 2 out of 428 and 274 Nebraska elementary schools respectively, and have exceptional test scores with 85-92% of students proficient or better in core subjects. Horizon Middle School also demonstrates strong performance, with 64-72% proficiency in English Language Arts and 67-72% in Mathematics on NSCAS tests.

However, the district exhibits significant variation in academic outcomes, with some schools struggling to meet state and district averages. There appears to be a correlation between higher poverty levels, as measured by free/reduced lunch rates, and lower test scores. Schools with the highest poverty, such as Bryant Elementary and Emerson Elementary, tend to have the lowest proficiency rates. Addressing these disparities and replicating the success of the top-performing schools could be key priorities for the Kearney Public Schools district moving forward.

District Detail

320 W 24th St
Kearney, NE 68845-5331

(308) 698-8000

SchoolDigger Rank:
54^th of 118 Nebraska districts

See the 2025 Nebraska District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 6,066

Primary Schools: 10
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 2
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NSCAS English Language Arts (2025)							NSCAS Mathematics (2025)							NSCAS Science (2025)			ACT English Language Arts (2025)	ACT Mathematics (2025)	ACT Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NSCAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	NSCAS English Language Arts All Grades	NSCAS Mathematics 3rd Grade	NSCAS Mathematics 4th Grade	NSCAS Mathematics 5th Grade	NSCAS Mathematics 6th Grade	NSCAS Mathematics 7th Grade	NSCAS Mathematics 8th Grade	NSCAS Mathematics All Grades	NSCAS Science 5th Grade	NSCAS Science 8th Grade	NSCAS Science All Grades	ACT English Language Arts 11th Grade	ACT Mathematics 11th Grade	ACT Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Meadowlark Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1010 E 53rd St	Kearney	68847	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8210	417	23	17.7	14.4%	358 (85.9%)	10 (2.4%)	30 (7.2%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	10 (2.4%)	92.9	7^th of 294 public elementary schools	97.6%		96	1^st of 428 public elementary schools	99.8%	6		85.3	80.3				86.1		92.0	88.7				92.3							$12,280	$247	$10,734
Sunrise Middle School	Public	6-8	4611 Ave N	Kearney	68847	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8150	536	44	12.1	38.4%	389 (72.6%)	12 (2.2%)	98 (18.3%)	10 (1.9%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	20 (3.7%)	51.9	75^th of 133 public middle schools	43.6%		59.5	90^th of 200 public middle schools	55.0%	15				62.8	61.7	70.1	64.9				63.3	59.4	63.6	62.2		84.8	84.8				$15,020	$405	$12,182
Bryant Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1611 Ave C	Kearney	68847	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(308) 698-8190	248	19	12.8	58.1%	141 (56.9%)	6 (2.4%)	89 (35.9%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.8%)	56.9	131^st of 294 public elementary schools	55.4%		52.5	243^rd of 428 public elementary schools	43.2%	112	45.8	63.2	78.1				61.4	64.6	81.6	75.6				73.2	87.8		87.8				$15,509	$1,641	$12,449
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	300 W 24th St	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(308) 698-8040	284	20	14.4	52.1%	151 (53.2%)	10 (3.5%)	99 (34.9%)	6 (2.1%)	4 (1.4%)	4 (1.4%)	10 (3.5%)	31.5	224^th of 294 public elementary schools	23.8%		56.5	223^rd of 428 public elementary schools	47.9%	1	48.9	61.4	53.1				54.3	59.6		67.4				72.1	79.6		79.6				$16,305	$1,435	$11,918
Emerson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2705 Ave E	Kearney	68847	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(308) 698-8270	235	18	13.0	54.5%	152 (64.7%)	5 (2.1%)	70 (29.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.4%)	16.5	262^nd of 294 public elementary schools	10.9%		47.5	260^th of 428 public elementary schools	39.3%	2	48.8		41.2				46.7	58.1						53.3							$16,218	$1,853	$12,667
Horizon Middle School	Public	6-8	915 W 35th St	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8120	648	43	15.0	29.0%	509 (78.5%)	8 (1.2%)	104 (16.0%)	5 (0.8%)	5 (0.8%)	4 (0.6%)	13 (2.0%)	63.2	58^th of 133 public middle schools	56.4%		69.4	58^th of 200 public middle schools	71.0%					64.9	72.0	69.2	68.7				69.8	67.9	71.0	69.6		84.1	84.1				$12,953	$414	$10,977
Kearney High School	Public	9-12	2702 West 11th Street	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8060	1,663	91	18.1	28.9%	1,305 (78.5%)	39 (2.3%)	269 (16.2%)	16 (1.0%)	10 (0.6%)	4 (0.2%)	20 (1.2%)	58	66^th of 146 public high schools	54.8%		52.8	85^th of 168 public high schools	49.4%	19																		51.3	57.4	54.9	$13,917	$441	$11,143
Kenwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	915 16th Ave	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8200	398	26	15.4	32.9%	311 (78.1%)	2 (0.5%)	60 (15.1%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	64.1	105^th of 294 public elementary schools	64.3%		71.3	115^th of 428 public elementary schools	73.1%	10	63.2	73.3	70.4				68.8	69.1	76.7	64.8				69.9	91.6		91.6				$13,286	$247	$11,425
Northeast Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	910 E 34th St	Kearney	68847	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(308) 698-8230	397	30	13.3	38.5%	255 (64.2%)	8 (2.0%)	108 (27.2%)	5 (1.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.5%)	53.3	147^th of 294 public elementary schools	50.0%		58.8	209^th of 428 public elementary schools	51.2%	62	60.0	51.7	63.0				58.7	62.7	81.0	76.7				72.8	87.7		87.7				$12,734	$1,287	$10,345
Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3000 7th Ave	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8280	257	15	16.7	28.4%	210 (81.7%)	5 (1.9%)	24 (9.3%)	5 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.1%)	80.4	42^nd of 294 public elementary schools	85.7%		83.8	47^th of 428 public elementary schools	89.0%	5	69.4	76.9	82.6				76.1	73.5	82.1	87.0				80.6							$12,604	$429	$11,040
Windy Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4211 20th Ave	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8220	259	15	17.2	15.1%	223 (86.1%)	1 (0.4%)	22 (8.5%)	6 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.7%)	94.6	2^nd of 294 public elementary schools	99.3%		86.2	36^th of 428 public elementary schools	91.6%	34	84.8	85.0	89.1				86.4	89.1						92.4							$12,591	$312	$10,978
Glenwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8105 9th Ave	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8240	118	8	14.6	8.5%	113 (95.8%)	1 (0.8%)	4 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)	69.6						73.4	78.3						82.8							$14,109	$304	$12,588
Kearney Education Center	Public	PK	1511 5th Avenue	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8033	332	15	21.5	29.2%	256 (77.1%)	7 (2.1%)	59 (17.8%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.8%)								(n/a)
Buffalo Hills Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6110 11th Avenue	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-8290	272	16	16.5	17.6%	241 (88.6%)	1 (0.4%)	19 (7.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.7%)	76.5	65^th of 294 public elementary schools	77.9%		83.4	49^th of 428 public elementary schools	88.6%	16	71.1	71.4	70.8				71.1	84.4	81.0	77.1				80.7	89.6		89.6				$13,854	$247	$11,482
Hanny Arram Center	Public	6-12	3907 6th Avenue	Kearney	68845	Buffalo County	Kearney Public Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(308) 698-6900	2	6	.3		2 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
West Kearney High School	3.32 mi	1
Gibbon Public Schools	11.52 mi	2	92^nd
Amherst Public Schools	12.88 mi	2	28^th
Elm Creek Public Schools	15.95 mi	2	63^rd
Minden Public Schools	16.85 mi	3	70^th

See the top NE Nebraska districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Nebraska Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.