Kellom Elementary School
Encyclopedia
Kellom Elementary School, formerly called the Paul Street School, is a public school located at 1311 North 24th Street in the Near North Side
neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska
. Alumni of Kellom include Fred Astaire
, Roger and Gale Sayers
, Bob Gibson
and Brenda Council
. Still maintaining a largely African American
student body population, the school was regarded as a "black school
" in pre-Civil Rights Movement
-era Omaha.
through sixth grade
. The school has a variety of special programs, including English as a Second Language programs and classes for gifted and talented students. There is an active Parent Teacher Association, and numerous community partners, including local businesses and universities.
Kellom's current population is 380-400 students. Of this population, 75% are African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic, and the remaining 25% are Sudan
ese, Asia
n, Native American
and Somali
; 88% of the current populations receive free or reduced lunches qualifying Kellom as a schoolwide Title I school. The mobility rate is 67.5%, which offers unique learning challenges for the staff and students.
The school is home to a basketball program sponsored by the City of Omaha
's Parks and Recreation Department.
, and throughout his career in Omaha worked as a teacher, a principal, and the first superintendent of schools in the city.
According to author Tillie Olsen
, in the 1920s the school hosted a number of classes for adult immigrants in the local neighborhood. In the early 1950s renowned Civil Rights Movement
leader Whitney Young
was the leader of the Urban League of Nebraska, based in North Omaha. Young earned notoriety in the neighborhood by operating basketball and other community outreach programs at the new Kellom School.
In 1964 Kellom participated in the Assistance for Interculturally Deprived program, and later in the Title I program of the U.S. Department of Education. Kellom became the site of the first free breakfast
program in Nebraska in 1967. The school was also targeted by a number of school desegregation plans from the 1970s through the 2000s. Since 1999 Omaha Public Schools
has included the school in a special program that ensures small class sizes at both the primary and intermediate grades.
, Roger and Gale Sayers
, Bob Gibson
, Bob Boozer
, Michael Anania, Brenda Council
, and Rosenblatt Stadium namesake/Omaha mayor, Johnny Rosenblatt.
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Alumni of Kellom include Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Roger and Gale Sayers
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears....
, Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
and Brenda Council
Brenda Council
Brenda J. Council is a labor lawyer in North Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently a Nebraska State Senator. She represents the 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature, serving as the successor of Ernie Chambers.-Political career:...
. Still maintaining a largely African American
African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska
African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated....
student body population, the school was regarded as a "black school
Black school
Black schools originated under legal segregation in the southern United States after the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, in southern states' public policy to keep races separated and maintain white supremacy. In the United States white opposition to African American success resulted in...
" in pre-Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska
The Civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska has roots that extend back until at least 1912. With a history of racial tension that starts before the founding of the city, Omaha has been the home of numerous overt efforts related to securing civil rights for African Americans since at least the...
-era Omaha.
About
Kellom School has 425 students in pre-kindergartenPre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
through sixth grade
Sixth grade
Sixth grade is a year of education in the United States and some other nations. The sixth grade is the sixth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 11 – 12 years old...
. The school has a variety of special programs, including English as a Second Language programs and classes for gifted and talented students. There is an active Parent Teacher Association, and numerous community partners, including local businesses and universities.
Kellom's current population is 380-400 students. Of this population, 75% are African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic, and the remaining 25% are Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
; 88% of the current populations receive free or reduced lunches qualifying Kellom as a schoolwide Title I school. The mobility rate is 67.5%, which offers unique learning challenges for the staff and students.
The school is home to a basketball program sponsored by the City of Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
's Parks and Recreation Department.
History
The Paul Street School was the original frame building erected in 1892 at the corner of 24th and Paul. The present Kellom opened in 1952 as a "community school", and included a community center as well as regular facilities. When it was built it was the first new school in the Omaha district in 27 years. It was named after John H. Kellom, an early educator who arrived in Omaha in 1857 and was on the first Omaha Board of Education in 1859. Kellom was on the Board of Trustees for Omaha High SchoolOmaha Central High School
Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, was founded in 1859.The current building, located in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, was designed by John Latenser, Sr. and built between 1900 and 1912...
, and throughout his career in Omaha worked as a teacher, a principal, and the first superintendent of schools in the city.
According to author Tillie Olsen
Tillie Olsen
Tillie Lerner Olsen was an American writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.-Biography:...
, in the 1920s the school hosted a number of classes for adult immigrants in the local neighborhood. In the early 1950s renowned Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
leader Whitney Young
Whitney Young
Whitney Moore Young Jr. was an American civil rights leader.He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for equitable access to...
was the leader of the Urban League of Nebraska, based in North Omaha. Young earned notoriety in the neighborhood by operating basketball and other community outreach programs at the new Kellom School.
In 1964 Kellom participated in the Assistance for Interculturally Deprived program, and later in the Title I program of the U.S. Department of Education. Kellom became the site of the first free breakfast
National School Lunch Act
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...
program in Nebraska in 1967. The school was also targeted by a number of school desegregation plans from the 1970s through the 2000s. Since 1999 Omaha Public Schools
Omaha Public Schools
Omaha Public Schools is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska. This public school district serves a diverse community of more than 46,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha, Nebraska...
has included the school in a special program that ensures small class sizes at both the primary and intermediate grades.
Alumni
Alumni of Kellom include Fred AstaireFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Roger and Gale Sayers
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears....
, Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, Bob Boozer
Bob Boozer
Robert Louis "Bob" Boozer is a retired American professional basketball player. Boozer was born and raised in North Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Tech High in Omaha....
, Michael Anania, Brenda Council
Brenda Council
Brenda J. Council is a labor lawyer in North Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently a Nebraska State Senator. She represents the 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature, serving as the successor of Ernie Chambers.-Political career:...
, and Rosenblatt Stadium namesake/Omaha mayor, Johnny Rosenblatt.