PENDER HIGH SCHOOL

PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is one of the intimate senior highs in PENDER, Nebraska, overseen by PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS, with 191 students on its rolls from grades 7 through 12. By comparison, Nebraska's public schools average about 391 students each, so PENDER HIGH SCHOOL sits 51% leaner than that benchmark.

PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 433 students. PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is one of those campuses.

Demographically, PENDER HIGH SCHOOL shows that nearly all students (87%) are White. The remainder breaks down as 6% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, 2% Native American. That is meaningfully more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 37%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, PENDER HIGH SCHOOL has 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 10.6:1, putting PENDER HIGH SCHOOL higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 39% of students at PENDER HIGH SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), PENDER HIGH SCHOOL sits in the top 10% of Nebraska schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 62.6%; actual is 79.3%, +16.7 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Thurston County) reports that median household earnings sit near $69,177, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Thurston County's 11 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,146 students), PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

PENDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), PENDER HIGH SCHOOL ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 65.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 32%: 145 students in 2018 compared to 191 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment decreased from 11% to 6% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 9.4:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.