Omaha Public Schools reports modest gains in high‑school "on‑track" rates; attendance and summer credit recovery cited

Omaha 'The Omaha Public Schools Board of Education received an informational presentation on the district's 2024–25 high‑school "on‑track" data showing modest overall gains and continued disparities across grades and student groups.

"A student is considered on track if they are making defined progress toward graduation," Deanna Moisette, executive director of secondary education, told the board. Moisette said districtwide on‑track rates have grown 2.4 percentage points since the district began consistent year‑to‑year measurement in 2022–23 and that more than 700 students regained on‑track status during this summer's next‑level learning programs.

Why it matters: On‑track metrics are used by OPS to identify which enrolled students are passing required courses and accumulating credits at a pace consistent with graduating with their four‑year cohort. Board members and administrators said the metric is intended as a diagnostic tool to prioritize interventions, not as a definitive prediction of graduation outcomes.

The presentation described several findings and responses. Moisette noted that on‑track rates dip in 10th and 11th grades and rebound in 12th grade; eleventh grade has been the district's lowest on‑track grade but shows incremental growth. She said 29% of 11th graders who are off track are deficient in a single credit area (for example, only math or only English), a detail administrators said helps target supports.

Moise told the board that school teams and district staff use a suite of dashboards (the "3 60" dashboard and on‑track dashboard) to identify students by name and to monitor interventions. She described school practices at North High and Bridal High in which freshman academy teams and credit‑recovery plans led to measurable improvements; North High's ninth‑grade on‑track rate rose 17 percentage points compared with the 2023–24 school year, she said.

Attendance emerged as a central factor. The presentation said 84.5% of ninth graders with 95% or greater attendance were on track, while ninth graders attending 80% or less of school had a 29.4% on‑track rate. "When we monitor on track rates, we aren't just looking at numbers, we're looking at names and faces," Moisette said.

Board members asked about which interventions most drove gains and how the district sustains summer credit recovery into the school year. Moisette said next‑level learning (summer programs) focuses high‑school credit retrieval, and that schools provide credit recovery during the school day, after school, and through programs such as Accelerate for students further behind.

Several trustees praised the presentation and data detail. Board member Teilen said the district designed the metric to be a diagnostic tool to identify students needing immediate support rather than to be a strict predictor of final graduation rates. Superintendent Ray commended schools and partners for targeted work, and board members said the report will inform future board planning and retreat discussions.

What the board will do: Moisette described the district's plan to expand rapid improvement cycles and to leverage principal PLCs and secondary success teams to share what is working across schools, and to use dashboard intersections to minimize subgroup gaps and improve attendance.

Background: The presentation also noted that the board approved changes to graduation requirements for the 2025–26 school year that reduce two physical education credits and increase one elective credit; Moisette said those adjustments have been accounted for in the updated dashboards. The district's on‑track measure covers students with active enrollment at the measurement time and does not count students who have dropped out or are no longer enrolled.

The board received the report as a receipt of reports; no formal action was taken during the presentation.