Central is a traditional high school in every sense of the word. We run a traditional nine period day, have traditional classrooms in a building with “old school” charm, and we have a rich tradition of excellence that dates back to 1859.
What should I do first when considering a high school for my child?
GET IN THE BUILDINGS! We would love to have your son or daughter at Central, but only if it is a good fit for them. There are many good high schools in the Omaha area, each with their own unique flair and culture. You will want to pick a high school that best fits your child's interests, personality, and needs. Getting into the buildings gives you a good idea of how the school functions. Here are a couple of ways you can get familiar with Central High School:
1. Come for a tour. We schedule tours between 9:00 – 2:00 on most school days. This will give you the opportunity to see our building in full action. We will walk the halls, look at classrooms, experience a passing period, maybe even a lunch period! We will talk about what is most important for a high school experience and will make sure that all of your questions are answered.
2. Come to our Open House – Saturday, January 21, 2017 (2018, TBA)
This is a good opportunity to get acquainted with the building. You can also talk with teachers, coaches, sponsors as well as hear from our principal.
How do we get into Central?
This will depend on many things. The first thing that needs to happen is that you must be enrolled in Omaha Public Schools. If your child is already attending an OPS school you can skip this step. If you are coming from a parochial school setting or attending a school outside the district you will need to complete the “Student Information Packet” and submit it to the TAC building. Once they are enrolled in the district you can begin the school selection process.
We do our best to accommodate all students that want to come to Central, however, we do have a limit on how many students can attend which means we have to turn students away each year.
The selection process . . .
Current 8th grade OPS students will receive a high school selection packet sometime in January at their middle school. This form must be returned to the middle school counselor or mailed to the TAC building by the deadline. Parochial school students will receive a post card from Omaha Public Schools in December explaining the process of coming to an OPS high school. The card will also inform you to call the TAC building to receive a High School Selection form and packet. Although it doesn’t guarantee placement at our school, you will want to list Central as your first choice on the high school selection form.
Students automatically placed at Central Any student that resides within Central's home attendance area and lists Central first on their selection form will automatically be placed at Central. You can follow this link to see what your home attendance area school is. Students who do not qualify based on address but are given higher priority include:
Lottery – because our number of request typically exceed the number of students we can allow into our school, the remaining open slots will go into a lottery type system.
What if I don’t get in?
If for some reason you do not get into Central and are unhappy with the school that was assigned, you have the option of submitting a Student Transfer Request form. This form should be completed and turned in to the school of choice by the deadline. At that point it becomes the principal’s decision to make an exception and exceed the cap. Typically, Dr. Bennett will base his decision on the prospective student’s current grades and behavior. For additional questions or to schedule a school tour please contact Mrs. Jamie Miller at 402-557-3382 or jamie.miller@ops.org