Kimball High School received national recognition, bronze award

Kimball High School was recently recognized as a top school in the nation by US News and World Reports, which collected data from, and rated more than, 20,500 public schools throughout the nation. Those schools were then awarded gold, silver or bronze awards based on state assessment performance and college preparedness.

"It is quite an honor for Kimball Jr/Sr High School to earn the Bronze Award from US News and World Report. This places Kimball in the top 29% when compared to high schools across the nation. It is important to note that many of the schools in this academic competition have significantly more resources and funding than Kimball Public Schools," Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Elizabeth Owens, said. "This is strong testament to the outstanding teachers and staff in our schools and our supportive School Board. The school community is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities and we have hard-working, excellent students."

Kimball's bronze is due, in part, to the district's 74 percent in mathematics proficiency and reading proficiency of 81 percent. Additionally, the local school boasts a 98 percent graduation rate, though college readiness was not measured for the district.

"US News uses a comprehensive ranking methodology that ensures schools serve all their students well, not just those that are college bound," Owens added. "In this ranking, there was a strong focus on student performance on state math and reading proficiency tests to determine if the school is successfully educating all students."

Additionally, the number of advanced placement classes a district offers, as well as those that offer career paths directly out of high school, were recognized.

"Although Kimball Public Schools is a relatively small school system, we offer a wide range of course opportunities for our students," Owens said. "We have several career and technical programs on-site to include Agriculture, Welding, Auto Mechanics, Residential Construction, Family and Consumer Sciences, Marketing and more. Through collaboration with Western Nebraska Community College, we are able to offer many dual credit course opportunities for students. Through agreements with Florida Virtual Online, we have expanded our academic offerings with a wide variety of advanced placement classes and college credit courses."

Potter-Dix also received a bronze medal and was recognized nationally with a 93 percent graduation rate, a 91 percent in mathematics and a 64 in reading proficiency.

Top schools in the state are, gold medalist Elkhorn South High School in Omaha with a 98 percent graduation rate and a 62.6 college readiness rate followed by silver medal earner Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn with a 97 percent graduation rate and a college readiness rate of 37.3. Chadron High School was ranked third in the state with a 90 percent graduation rate and a 17.2 in college readiness.

State graduation requirements include a minimum of 200 credit hours with at least 80 percent from the core curriculum and Nebraska's graduation rate is approximately 90 percent.

"We will continue to strive to provide all the students of Kimball with the best educational opportunities possible," Owens concluded. "The future will bring more opportunities for online learning, but we will always provide direct instruction from our teachers which is very important for our students' academic success."