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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
399
Elementary
DISTRICT 370 · STATE 272
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 317527001481
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
700 TARA RD, PAPILLION, NE 68046 · (402) 898-0445 · Sarpy County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL399 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of Nebraska public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
13.9:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 21.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
26%
103 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 37%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 17 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 58 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 48 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 52 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 57 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (58) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (57).
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · 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
Test scores
NSCAS 2024-25 . % On Track + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
66.9%
NE avg 57.6%
Math
67.7%
NE avg 60.6%
What this means: On the NSCAS, Nebraska's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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
65.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.4%
based on NE schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (65.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 399 | 25.8% | 65.1% |
| MORLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LINCOLN | 370 | 28.1% | 67.5% |
| PYRTLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LINCOLN | 449 | 24.1% | 68.2% |
| J STERLING MORTON ELEM SCHOOL OMAHA | 392 | 29.8% | 65.3% |
| KAHOA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LINCOLN | 432 | 26.6% | 69.7% |
| KEARNEY EDUCATION CENTER KEARNEY | 332 | 29.2% | N/A |
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 TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Nebraska | In Sarpy County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.1% | #159 of 311 | #22 of 36 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.7% | #176 of 398 | #19 of 43 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.9% | #127 of 438 | #18 of 45 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 399 | #135 of 587 | #19 of 55 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #160 of 379 | #14 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.6% | #228 of 379 | #32 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.8% | #248 of 359 | #15 of 37 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.6% | #186 of 220 | #24 of 29 |
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
399
+8 (+2%) vs 2020
+20% since 1990-91, when it was 333
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 399 | 28.7 | 13.9:1 | 26% (103) |
| 2023-24 | 404 | 29.1 | 13.9:1 | 32% (130) |
| 2022-23 | 437 | 28.5 | 15.3:1 | 33% (146) |
| 2020-21 | 391 | 27 | 14.5:1 | 28% (109) |
| 2017-18 | 414 | 26.9 | 15.4:1 | 26% (106) |
| 2015-16 | 363 | 24 | 15.1:1 | 32% (117) |
| 2010-11 | 401 | 28 | 14.3:1 | 24% (98) |
| 2000-01 | 502 | 27 | 18.6:1 | 6% (29) |
| 1990-91 | 333 | 15 | 22.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (414 to 399); teachers up 7% (26.9 to 28.7).
About TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in PAPILLION, Nebraska. Students in pre-K through 6 attend, and enrollment is 399 students. The typical figure for elementary schools in Nebraska is about 272 students.
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is run by PAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, whose 22 schools enroll 12,069 students.
White students are the majority at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, with 76% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 11% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 4% Black. County-wide, about 79% of residents are White. TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's diversity index is 40%, against a US figure of 70%.
With 28.7 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL was 13.9:1. This ratio sits 7.1 below the 21.0:1 average for elementary schools in Nebraska. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 26%. That tracks the 23% average for public schools in Sarpy County.
Measured against Nebraska public elementary schools, TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL receives a B-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 67.4% for TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. The school posts 65.1%, 2.2 points below the prediction.
Federal survey data for Sarpy County show that the median household income is $103,321, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of people live in poverty. There are 76 public schools in Sarpy County, enrolling about 34,055 students in all.
Nearby, PAPILLION LA VISTA SENIOR HIGH is about 0.5 miles away. Within five miles of TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 1st of 5 on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 391 in 2020-21, 399 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Sarpy County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
197,389
Census ACS
Median income
$103,321
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
76
34,055 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
- PAPILLION LA VISTA SOUTH HSHigh · 2,038 students
- PAPILLION LA VISTA SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,867 students
- LA VISTA MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 719 students
- PAPILLION MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 635 students
- LIBERTY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 522 students
- PRAIRIE QUEEN ELEMENTARYElementary · 514 students
Other schools in PAPILLION
- PAPILLION LA VISTA SOUTH HSHigh · 2,038 students
- PAPILLION LA VISTA SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,867 students
- PAPILLION MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 635 students
- LIBERTY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 522 students
- PRAIRIE QUEEN ELEMENTARYElementary · 514 students
- BELL ELEMENTARYElementary · 488 students
Nearby schools
- PAPILLION LA VISTA SENIOR HIGH0.5 mi · 1,867
- ESU 3 PAPILLION LAVISTA EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER0.7 mi · 8
- PAPILLION LA VISTA EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER (PLECC)0.7 mi · 66
- PAPILLION MIDDLE SCHOOL0.8 mi · 635
- HICKORY HILL ELEMENTARY SCH1.0 mi · 362
- LA VISTA MIDDLE SCHOOL1.1 mi · 719
Frequently asked questions
About TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 399 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is approximately 13.9:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 76% White, 11% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in?
TARA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is part of PAPILLION LA VISTA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.