Total enrollment
6,066
+11 (+0%) vs SY 2020-21
15 schools in KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Nebraska · 6,066 students · 1 city
Within KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 15 public K-12 schools serve about 6,066 students, an average of 404 per school.
4-year change in KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25School count
15
+1 (+7%) vs SY 2020-21
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, enrollment-weighted demographic averages
How KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ranks
Among districts| Measure | This district | In Nebraska | In the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.3% | #11 of 22 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 6,066 | #10 of 93 | #1,557 of 9,234 |
| Number of schools ranked most first | 15 | #8 of 93 | N/A |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.5:1 | #84 of 93 | #5,977 of 9,044 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch share ranked highest first | 31.4% | #52 of 87 | #6,484 of 8,164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.9% | #23 of 43 | #4,092 of 6,853 |
Districts need at least 2 schools and 500 students to be ranked. Test proficiency is ranked within the state only, since each state gives a different test. Each rank links to the full list.
Inside KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
State test results across the district's 12 scored schools run from MEADOWLARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 80.1% proficient to SUNRISE MIDDLE SCHOOL at 59.7%, a gap of 20.4 points. That is the 8th widest gap among 20 Nebraska districts with four or more scored schools.
Since 2017-18, the 14 district schools that reported both years went from 5,815 to 6,064 students (up 4%) and from 363 to 385 full-time teachers (up 6%), as of 2024-25.
Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across each school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25; schools with fewer than 100 students and schools serving specialized populations are left out. Staffing figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data and count only schools that reported students and teachers in both years.
| Name | City | Level | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEARNEY HIGH SCHOOL | Kearney | High | 09-12 | 1,663 |
| HORIZON MIDDLE SCHOOL | Kearney | Middle | 06-08 | 648 |
| SUNRISE MIDDLE SCHOOL | Kearney | Middle | 06-08 | 536 |
| MEADOWLARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 417 |
| KENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 398 |
| NORTHEAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 397 |
| KEARNEY EDUCATION CENTER | Kearney | Elementary | PK-PK | 332 |
| CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 284 |
| BUFFALO HILLS ELEMENTARY | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 272 |
| WINDY HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 259 |
| PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 257 |
| BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 248 |
| EMERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 235 |
| GLENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | Kearney | Elementary | PK-05 | 118 |
| HANNY ARRAM CENTER | Kearney | High | 06-12 | 2 |
About KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Across 15 schools, KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS instructs about 6,066 students in Nebraska. By footprint it is a middle-population district.
On the school-mix side, KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS comprises 11 elementary, 2 middle, and 2 high schools.
Average enrollment per school in KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS is about 404, higher than the Nebraska average of roughly 324.
Five-year track record. Across the same 4-year window, public-school enrollment stayed largely flat: 6,055 students in SY 2020-21 versus 6,066 in SY 2024-25. The school count climbed from 14 to 15 across the same 4-year window.
In the discussion threads here, the community for KEARNEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS discusses open enrollment windows, redistricting talk, and busing logistics. Parents, students, and educators in the area can post or comment.