Third City residents can send their children to a variety of public or private schools in Grand Island.

The mix includes two public high schools, a Catholic middle school and high school, a Lutheran high school and four parochial elementary schools.

Public schools

The Grand Island Public Schools serve about 8,000 students with a staff of about 700 certified full-time and part-time teachers and administrators.

Grades for the Grand Island Public Schools are aligned so that elementary schools serve kindergarten through fifth-grade students, middle schools educate students in the sixth through eighth grades and G.I. Senior High teaches ninth- to 12th-grade students. Kindergarten is offered in an all-day setting.

The Grand Island school district has 14 elementary schools, three middle schools and a single high school.

Grand Island Northwest Public Schools is a K-12 school system served by a 9-12 high school in northwest Grand Island and there are four rural elementary feeder schools.

Total enrollment in all four schools is approximately 1,400.

With a staff of more than 50 certified teachers and administrators, Northwest High School has an enrollment of about 700 students.

The Northwest school system is governed by a six-member school board elected from the rural areas surrounding Grand Island.

The elementary feeder schools for Northwest are: Cedar Hollow, located just southwest of Grand Island; District 1-R, just north of Grand Island; St. Libory, in Howard County; and Chapman, in Merrick County.

Those four schools collectively have about 700 students and another 50 certified teachers and administrators.

Cedar Hollow is the largest elementary school and has almost half the elementary enrollment all by itself, with between 350 and 360 students in the K-8 school.

Cedar Hollow's enrollment is followed in descending order by District 1-R, Chapman and St. Libory. Like Cedar Hollow, all are K-8 schools.

Westridge Middle School is part of the Grand Island school district. At one time, though, Westridge was a Northwest feeder school. Because of that, many Westridge Middle School students chose to attend Northwest High School after first attending Shoemaker and Engleman Elementary schools.

As a result, two advisory board members from that part of town also are part of the Northwest school board, although their votes are not binding.

Under Nebraska's school choice law, families may live in one public school district but still have the option for parents to send their children to another public school.

Parochial schools

Grand Island has six parochial schools for parents to choose from. Two are at the secondary level and four are elementary schools.

Central Catholic serves about 315 students in the sixth through 12th grades and has a staff of approximately 35 certified teachers and administrators.

Heartland Lutheran High School is Grand Island's youngest parochial school. Anticipated enrollment for the 2007-08 school year is 90 to 100 students for the grade 9 to 12 high school.

The school has eight teachers, including Principal John Weber. Heartland Lutheran's first year was 2000-01, when it opened the fall term with five students.

Christian Heritage Academy serves elementary through high school students. It operated two years ago in Aurora, but had classes during the 2006-07 school year at Bethel Baptist Church in Grand Island.

Four parochial schools at the elementary level are Grand Island Christian, Seventh-day Adventist, Trinity Lutheran (Missouri Synod) and Christ Lutheran (Wisconsin Synod).

In Nebraska, the law also allows home schooling of students.

School locations, phone numbers

Administration Building, 123 S. Webb Road, 385-5900

Elementary schools:

Dodge, 641 S. Oak, 385-5889

Engleman, 4360 W. Capital, 385-5902

Gates, 2700 W. Louise, 385-5892

Howard, 502 W. Ninth, 385-5916

Jefferson, 1314 W. Seventh, 385-5922

Knickrehm, 2013 N. Oak, 385-5927

Lincoln, 910 E. Eighth, 385-5924

Newell, 2700 W. 13th, 385-5905

Seedling Mile, 3208 E. Seedling Mile Road, 385-5910

Shoemaker, 4160 Old Potash Highway, 385-5936

Starr, 315 Wyandotte St., 385-5882

Stolley Park, 1700 W. Stolley Park Road, 385-5913

Wasmer, 318 S. Clark, 385-5920

West Lawn, 3022 W. College, 385-5930

Middle schools:

Barr Middle School, 602 W. Stolley Park Road, 385-5875

Walnut Middle School, 1600 N. Custer, 385-5990

Westridge Middle School, 1812 Mansfield Road, 385-5886

High schools:

Grand Island Senior High School, 2124 N. Lafayette, 385-5950

Northwest High School, 2710 N. North Road, 385-6394

Parochial schools:

Central Catholic Middle School-High School, 1200 N. Ruby, 384-2440

Heartland Lutheran High School, 3900 W. Husker Highway, 385-3900

Christ Lutheran School, 1300 Grand Island Ave., 381-2837

Grand Island Christian School, 1804 W. State, 384-2755

Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary, 636 S. Shady Bend Road, 384-1480

Trinity Lutheran School, 208 W. 13th, 382-5274