In Omaha, educational opportunities abound with a strong public school district, private and parochial schools, and nationally noted colleges and universities.

Learn more about Elementary & Secondary Schools, Education Initiatives, Business & Education Partnerships, Colleges & Universities and Training Resources.

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Greater Omaha is served by a multitude of public and private education options. For k-12, the area’s families and children benefit greatly from a dedicated system of award-winning schools and educators. This is proven time and again by Nebraska consistently ranking among the leading states in the nation for percentage of high school graduates. Approximately 139,000 children are enrolled in a public or community school system in Greater Omaha, the largest being Omaha Public Schools.

Greater Omaha is also served by private schools operated by a variety of faith-based religious groups and nondenominational schools. Current enrollment figures for selected Greater Omaha public and private school districts are highlighted in the following table.

Enrollment of Select School Districts in Greater Omaha
Enrollment of Select School Districts in Greater Omaha
*Public*
Arlington Public Schools	588
Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools	871
Bellevue Public Schools	9,887
Bennington Public Schools	1,346
Blair Community Schools	2,326
Cedar Bluffs Public Schools	229
Conestoga Public Schools	647
Council Bluffs Community School District	9,210
Douglas County West Public Schools	701
Elkhorn Public Schools	5,725
Elmwood-Murdock Public Schools	434
Fort Calhoun Community Schools	586
Gretna Public Schools	3,110
Lewis Central Community Schools	3,178
Logan-Magnolia Community Schools	716
Louisville Public Schools	532
Malvern Community Schools	314
Mead Public Schools	215
Millard Public Schools	22,783
Nishna Valley Community Schools	248
Omaha Public Schools	49,333
Papillion-La Vista Public Schools	10,176
Plattsmouth Community Schools	1,798
Prague Public Schools	111
Ralston Public Schools	3,153
South Sarpy District 46	1,009
Treynor Community Schools	733
Tri-Center Community Schools	772
Wahoo Public Schools	940
Weeping Water Public Schools	371
West Harrison Community Schools	446
Westside Community Schools	6,023
Woodbine Community Schools	468
Yutan Public Schools	477
*Private*
Archdiocese of Omaha	15,278
Bellevue Christian Academy	82
Boys Town	394
Brownell Talbot Schools	441
Concordia Lutheran Schools of Omaha	428
Omaha Christian Academy	269
Total	156,348
Sources: Nebraska Dept. of Education, 2010-11; Iowa Dept. of Education, 2010-11; Archdiocese of Omaha

Education Initiatives

There are many factors that can impact a child’s ability to benefit from the educational opportunities available. Several education initiatives exist in the Greater Omaha area to address these very issues.

Learning Community
The Learning Community is a political subdivision comprised of 11 school districts within Douglas and Sarpy counties. Based on socioeconomic status (not race or ethnicity) the Learning Community focuses on themed schools, similar to magnet schools, throughout the community. The state has committed more than $25 million to this initiative concentrated on improving student accomplishments and achieving socioeconomic integration across all participating districts. In addition, the Learning Community will benefit from collaboration with private sector and nonprofit partners that will bring additional resources and expertise to addressing educational needs.

The Educare Center of Omaha
This state-of-the-art early childhood center offers day-long, year-round care and education for economically disadvantaged children up to five years of age. The program is funded by state and local public entities, private donors and through sliding-scale fees paid by families not receiving Title XX assistance.

Building Bright Futures
Developed to address the myriad issues that prohibit or hinder students’ success, this initiative targets disadvantaged youth from pre-school through college. The goals of Building Bright Futures include:

Improve academic achievement
Increase the number of students who graduate from high school prepared for work or post-secondary education
Provide post-secondary educational opportunities to every economically disadvantaged high school graduate in the two-county area
Increase civic participation and community responsibility

Building Bright Futures is backed by prominent Omahans who have pledged to act as donors and help raise additional federal, state and private funds.

Bright Futures Foundation
The vision of this foundation is to identify Greater Omaha students of talent and need and offer them comprehensive support from high school through community college or university graduation. The foundation’s objectives are to increase the access to, and completion of, post-secondary programs by economically disadvantaged students. The high school component of Bright Futures Foundation helps with academic support, college application support, mentoring, counseling and work-study support. The post-secondary component of Bright Futures Foundation will provide post-secondary guidance and counseling services, financial aid and scholarship support, academic support, mentoring, counseling and work-study support.

Junior Achievement of the Midlands, Inc.
Provided at no cost, Junior Achievement provides in-school programs to help educate young people in grades k-12 about business, economics and free enterprise. Junior Achievement also impresses the importance of staying in school and the relevance of school to work. Classes are taught by volunteers who are often the first business role models young people meet.

Business, Education and Workforce Partnerships
The Greater Omaha community benefits greatly from numerous public-private partnerships and education is no exception. Businesses understand that to have access to a quality workforce, they must be active and willing participants in creating relevant learning opportunities — especially in the area of technology.

Heartland Workforce Solutions
Heartland Workforce Solutions, Inc. (HWS) is a non-profit corporation which seeks to develop and connect individuals to employment which drives economic growth and stability. The organization is working to help ensure that the area workforce demonstrates adequate basic skills for employment as well as demonstrating a high level of employment skills. In addition, businesses, workforce partners, and education collaborate to ensure a pipeline is available to fill positions specific to targeted industry sectors. Through the comprehensive career center and work with the community, HWS strives to be a partner in the success of businesses and job seekers alike.

Peter Kiewit Institute
A combination of two colleges in Nebraska’s university system in partnership with business and industry, this higher education institute taps nearly 180 partners in the fields of information science, technology, telecommunications and engineering to meet the needs of the rapidly changing information technology field. The program offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in such areas as computer science; management information systems; architectural, civil, computer and electronics engineering; and construction-systems technology.

Applied Information Management (AIM) Institute
A nonprofit corporation created through a consortium of business, education and government, AIM Institute serves as a catalyst for facilitating changes and improvements to meet the IT needs of Nebraska businesses. The result has been the development of online employment recruiting services and the nation’s largest Cisco Networking Academy program, with 29 participating schools.

Colleges and Universities

Greater Omaha and the surrounding communities offer some of the top colleges and universities in the region including:

Seventeen colleges and universities with a combined enrollment of more than 70,000 students
Two internationally recognized medical schools – the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University Medical Center

Current enrollment statistics are provided below.

Greater Omaha Higher Education Enrollment
Institution	Enrollment*	Location
Bellevue University	10,407	Bellevue
Clarkson College	980	Omaha
College of Saint Mary	1,070	Omaha
The Creative Center	114	Omaha
Creighton University	7,662	Omaha
Grace University	481	Omaha
Iowa Western Community College	6,799	Co Bluffs
ITT Technical Institute	732	Omaha
Kaplan University - Omaha/Bluffs Campus	1,441	Omaha
Metropolitan Community College	18,523	Omaha
Midland University	1,117	Fremont
Nebraska Christian College	141	Papillion
NE Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health	765	Omaha
University of Nebraska at Omaha	14,665	Omaha
University of Nebraska Medical Center	3,494	Omaha
University of Phoenix	1,200	Omaha
Vatterott College	755	Omaha
Total	70,345
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2010-2011; University of Phoenix *Enrollment includes students seeking a certificate/degree as reported by NCES

Training Resources

From initial employee recruitment, to pre-employment testing and existing employee re-training, numerous programs have been developed to ensure Greater Omaha’s workforce has the skills that businesses need.

Customized Job Training Program
Aimed at providing new and expanding industry with a skilled labor force, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development assists businesses in the development of customized training programs . Offered at little or no cost, qualifying businesses include those in manufacturing; service sectors with the majority of sales from interstate commerce; research and development; warehousing and distribution; tourism attractions for profit or nonprofit, public or private; administrative management headquarters; and transportation. Working with industrial and educational experts, services include the development of a customized curriculum, identifying qualified instructors, locating training materials, acquisition of specialized equipment, creation of on-site training facilities as well as screening, assessment and interviewing to ensure only individuals having the appropriate aptitudes and abilities are recruited.

Nebraska Worker Training Program (LB 1337)
The Nebraska Worker Training Program (LB 1337) , administered by the Nebraska Department of Labor, provides grants to assist firms in retraining and upgrading the skills of existing employees. The goal of the Nebraska Worker Training Program is to enhance the skill level and productivity of employees. Use of program funds is extremely flexible with the type and length of training programs, training vendors and training materials mostly being at the discretion of the company. Examples of eligible projects include:

            Training required by the installation of new equipment and technology in the workplace
            Worker skill assessments
            Apprenticeship programs
            English as a second language training
            ISO-9000 training
            Assisting staff to access new markets
            Safety training
            Labor/management cooperation activities
            Benchmarking

An employer match of at least one dollar for each dollar of state funds is required. Wages paid to employees while in training; equipment, space or other facilities used in training; and supervisory personnel and materials provided by the company may applied against the company match.

Area Institutions
In addition to state-sponsored programs, businesses are able to draw on the experience and resources of two primary institutions within Greater Omaha – Metropolitan Community College and Iowa Western Community College. Both colleges offer a variety of existing training programs and classes. Customized training and development programs may also be initiated.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) provides employment and training services to help displaced workers, or workers who have been laid off, develop marketable job skills. Services include classroom, on-the-job and customized training, assessment, counseling and support services. In addition, WIA of Greater Omaha works with area businesses to develop training opportunities to help individuals enter the labor market. Employers who use WIA participants are eligible to use WIA training dollars.

Nebraska Department of Labor
The Nebraska Department of Labor provides a wide range of employment services to small and large businesses alike. These services include statewide labor pool, job placement and labor market information along with offering business owners the opportunity to work on local employer committees to improve employment services to the community.

Learn more at OmahaChamber.org.