Enrollment
128
Elementary
DISTRICT 122 · STATE 272
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PONCA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 317577001530
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
505 3RD ST, PONCA, NE 68770 · (402) 755-5700 · Dixon County
GRADES 03–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL128 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of Nebraska public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Nebraska public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
11 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 21.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
24%
31 students
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 37%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 36 | 28% |
| Grade 4 | 34 | 27% |
| Grade 5 | 30 | 23% |
| Grade 6 | 28 | 22% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 11% · 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
Students here typically continue to
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL→PONCA HIGH SCHOOL
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within PONCA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NSCAS 2024-25 . % On Track + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
71.3%
NE avg 57.6%
Math
80.6%
NE avg 60.6%
What this means: On the NSCAS, Nebraska's statewide test, about 71 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
71.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.9%
based on NE schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 68% typical for Nebraska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Nebraska's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (71.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 128 | 24.2% | 71.7% |
| FULLERTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FULLERTON | 154 | 26.6% | 72.5% |
| WEEPING WATER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEEPING WATER | 158 | 27.2% | 66.7% |
| ARNOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ARNOLD | 121 | 25.6% | 45.6% |
| HAMPTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAMPTON | 112 | 18.8% | 53.7% |
| FRIEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FRIEND | 127 | 23.6% | 60.1% |
Matched among Nebraska elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.7% | #75 of 311 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.6% | #20 of 398 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.3% | #72 of 438 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 128 | #454 of 587 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 24.2% | #256 of 359 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
128
-7 (-5%) vs 2020
-37% since 1990-91, when it was 204
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 128 | 10.7 | 11.9:1 | 24% (31) |
| 2023-24 | 118 | 10.7 | 11.0:1 | 30% (35) |
| 2022-23 | 125 | 10.7 | 11.7:1 | 29% (36) |
| 2020-21 | 135 | 11 | 12.3:1 | 19% (26) |
| 2017-18 | 137 | 11.6 | 11.9:1 | 23% (31) |
| 2015-16 | 130 | 12 | 10.8:1 | 25% (32) |
| 2010-11 | 131 | 11 | 11.9:1 | 25% (33) |
| 2000-01 | 221 | 15 | 14.7:1 | 19% (41) |
| 1990-91 | 204 | 11 | 18.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (137 to 128); teachers down 7% (11.6 to 10.7).
About PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of the public schools in PONCA, Nebraska. It is a low-enrollment elementary school. It enrolled 128 students in grades 3 through 6 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, elementary schools in Nebraska average about 272 students each.
PONCA PUBLIC SCHOOLS is responsible for 3 schools, PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL included, with 442 students in all.
White students make up 93% of enrollment at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Next come 2% Hispanic and 2% Black. That compares with about 83% White among all Dixon County residents. The school's diversity index is 13%, meaning two students picked at random have a 13% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The ratio of students to teachers is 11.9:1, with 10.7 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 9.1 students per teacher below the 21.0:1 average for elementary schools in Nebraska. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 24%. The gap from the 33% average for public schools in Dixon County is 9 points.
allk12 grades PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL an A-. The grade compares the school only with Nebraska public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 3.8 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (71.7% versus 67.9%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Nebraska.
Among Dixon County residents, the median household income is $72,454, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 5 public schools in the county.
PONCA HIGH SCHOOL is the closest public school, less than a tenth of a mile away in a straight line. Other public schools within ten miles number at least 8. The school's 71.7% average proficiency ranks 1st among 6 nearby schools.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Distant.
Enrollment is down 5% from 2020-21, when PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL had 135 students, to 2024-25, when it had 128.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Dixon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,545
Census ACS
Median income
$72,454
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
557 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PONCA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- PONCA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 198 students
- JACKSON ELEMENTARYElementary · 116 students
Other Ponca Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Ponca Elementary. PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLOMAHA, NE · 138 students
Nearby schools
- PONCA HIGH SCHOOL0.0 mi · 198
- Elk Point-Jefferson Elementary - 028.2 mi · 334
- Elk Point-Jefferson High School - 018.3 mi · 212
- Elk Point-Jefferson Middle School - 038.3 mi · 151
- Dakota Valley Middle School - 039.6 mi · 345
- Dakota Valley High School - 019.6 mi · 431
Frequently asked questions
About PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 128 students in grades 03-06.
What age range does PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves students from grade 03 through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is approximately 11.9:1 (11 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 93% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
PONCA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by PONCA PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.