Enrollment
191
High
DISTRICT 217 · STATE 391
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 317539001489
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL
609 WHITNEY ST, PENDER, NE 68047 · (402) 385-3244 · Thurston County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL191 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 10.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
75 students
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 37%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 30 | 16% |
| Grade 8 | 33 | 17% |
| Grade 9 | 32 | 17% |
| Grade 10 | 39 | 20% |
| Grade 11 | 28 | 15% |
| Grade 12 | 29 | 15% |
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 57% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NSCAS 2024-25 . % On Track + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
76.1%
NE avg 57.6%
Math
80.7%
NE avg 60.6%
What this means: On the NSCAS, Nebraska's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Nebraska schools, those numbers are about 58 and 61.
Source: NSCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NE schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
79.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.6%
based on NE schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 79% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 63% typical for Nebraska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 17 points, placing it in Nebraska's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where PENDER HIGH SCHOOL ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 79.3% | #2 of 68 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.7% | #5 of 68 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #4 of 86 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 191 | #111 of 274 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.3% | #57 of 177 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
191
+45 (+31%) vs 2020
+18% since 1990-91, when it was 162
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 9.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 191 | 14.2 | 13.4:1 | 39% (75) |
| 2023-24 | 184 | 15.1 | 12.2:1 | 45% (83) |
| 2022-23 | 182 | 15.1 | 12.1:1 | 44% (80) |
| 2020-21 | 146 | 15 | 9.7:1 | 38% (56) |
| 2017-18 | 145 | 15.4 | 9.4:1 | 38% (55) |
| 2015-16 | 143 | 15 | 9.5:1 | 34% (48) |
| 2010-11 | 150 | 14 | 10.7:1 | 25% (38) |
| 2000-01 | 223 | 17 | 13.1:1 | 28% (62) |
| 1990-91 | 162 | 15 | 10.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for PENDER HIGH SCHOOL.
About PENDER HIGH SCHOOL
Among the schools in PENDER, Nebraska, is PENDER HIGH SCHOOL, a small high school. The school has 191 students in 2024-25 across grades 7 through 12. By comparison, high schools in Nebraska enroll about 391 students on average.
PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS is responsible for 2 schools, PENDER HIGH SCHOOL included, with 433 students in all.
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is 87% White by enrollment. Next come 6% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 2% Native American. That compares with about 37% White among all Thurston County residents. The diversity index for PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is 23%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 14.2 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 13.4:1. The gap from the 10.6:1 average for high schools in Nebraska is 2.8 students per teacher. On the income side, 39% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
A school in Nebraska with PENDER HIGH SCHOOL's free or reduced-price lunch share would be expected to score about 62.6%. PENDER HIGH SCHOOL scores 79.3%.
The school's county is Thurston County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $69,177, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 22%, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. There are 11 public schools in the county, enrolling about 2,146, PENDER HIGH SCHOOL among them.
PENDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits less than a tenth of a mile from PENDER HIGH SCHOOL. PENDER HIGH SCHOOL comes in 1st of 4 nearby schools on average proficiency.
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment rose from 146 to 191, a 31% gain. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 9.7:1 to 13.4:1.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Thurston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
6,627
Census ACS
Median income
$69,177
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
2,146 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- PENDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 242 students
Nearby schools
- PENDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL0.0 mi · 242
- BANCROFT-ROSALIE JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL10.0 mi · 114
- BANCROFT-ROSALIE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL10.0 mi · 170
- EMERSON-HUBBARD MIDDLE SCHOOL11.1 mi · 40
- EMERSON-HUBBARD HIGH SCHOOL11.1 mi · 71
- WALTHILL HIGH SCHOOL11.4 mi · 151
Frequently asked questions
About PENDER HIGH SCHOOLHow many students attend PENDER HIGH SCHOOL?
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL enrolls approximately 191 students in grades 07-12.
What age range does PENDER HIGH SCHOOL serve?
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL serves students from grade 07 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at PENDER HIGH SCHOOL?
Approximately 13.4:1 students per teacher at PENDER HIGH SCHOOL.
How diverse is PENDER HIGH SCHOOL?
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL reports a student body of 87% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is PENDER HIGH SCHOOL public or private?
PENDER HIGH SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by PENDER PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.