Howard Kennedy Elementary School is located at 2906 North 30th Street in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, United States. Almost since its inception Kennedy was regarded as one of Omaha's "

black school Black schools, also referred to as "colored" schools, were racially segregated schools in the United States that originated after the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. The phenomenon began in the late 1860s during Reconstruction era ...

s," almost exclusively

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. Football great

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...

attended the school.

History

The school was founded in 1892 as Omaha View School, as it sat on a hill overlooking downtown. In 1918 the school was home to Omaha's champion student writer: eighth grader Alice Watson was lauded in the national ''Negro Year Book: An Annual Encyclopedia of the Negro'' for the honor. The current building was constructed in 1910, and was renamed after the first public school educator in Omaha, who served as the first teacher, principal and superintendent starting in 1859. Kennedy originally served students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

through ninth grade. Kennedy was remodeled extensively in 2005.

Present

Today the school has approximately 240 students, with a student body which is more than 84% African American. Hispanics count for 10%, and white students for 5%, with Native American and "other" covering the remainder. Kennedy is a schoolwide

Title I The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1965. Part of Johnson's "War on Poverty", the act has been one of the most far-rea ...

with an 84.26% poverty rate. It is a participant in the Nebraska 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Program funded by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

. Starting in 2005 the school became a part of the Bright Futures Partnership, a collaboration between

Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its district ...

and several nonprofit organizations designed to help at-risk youth prepare for middle school and work toward high school graduation. The school also participates in an annual Omaha Police Department basketball tournament."P.A.L. Basketball Tournament November 3, 2007"
. Omaha Police Department. November 2, 2007. Retrieved 12/29/07.

References

External links

Photo of Howard Kennedy

Capstone ProjectOfficial webpage
{{coord, 41, 17, 08, N, 95, 57, 26, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-NE Elementary schools in Omaha, Nebraska Schools in North Omaha, Nebraska Historically segregated African-American schools in Nebraska School buildings completed in 1916 Public elementary schools in Nebraska 1916 establishments in Nebraska

History

Present

See also

References

External links