Historic Omaha
An illustrated history of Omaha and the Douglas County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
An illustrated history of Omaha and the Douglas County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
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MILLARD<br />
PUBLIC<br />
SCHOOLS<br />
✧<br />
Above: Award-winning academic programs<br />
and innovative curriculum ensure students<br />
learn the academic and life skills necessary<br />
for personal success and responsible living.<br />
Below: Millard’s music program was<br />
named one of the top one hundred music<br />
programs in the country by the American<br />
Music Conference.<br />
HISTORIC OMAHA<br />
112<br />
If, 130 years ago, you had stood on the<br />
highest hill in the area and looked around, you<br />
would have seen miles and miles of<br />
uninhabited prairie. Ezra Millard saw<br />
something else. He saw a town, with churches<br />
and businesses and schools. From its humble<br />
beginnings in 1870, Millard has grown in both<br />
population and importance. Its school district is<br />
now the third largest in the State of Nebraska.<br />
The first school in Millard, established in<br />
the fall of 1870, had six students. Classes were<br />
held in various buildings belonging to a local<br />
farmer. Six years later, the first school was built<br />
and furnished for $2,700. It served Millard<br />
until 1930 when it was destroyed in a fire. A<br />
new school was built on the same site, what is<br />
now 132nd and Millard Avenue. In 1938,<br />
Millard graduated its first senior class.<br />
Millard’s original school district had been<br />
confined to about four square miles<br />
surrounding the town. That all changed in the<br />
late ’50s when Western Electric built a large<br />
plant just north of Millard. The Millard School<br />
District merged with seven rural districts and<br />
reached its current size of thirty-five square<br />
miles in Douglas and Sarpy Counties. In 1962<br />
the interstate highway system connected<br />
Millard with <strong>Omaha</strong> and the town experienced<br />
rapid growth. Its population grew by 635<br />
percent between 1960 and 1970. It went from<br />
one school to eight schools and from 420<br />
students to 4,756 students.<br />
After lengthy legal fights, <strong>Omaha</strong> annexed<br />
the City of Millard in 1971. However, the<br />
Millard School District maintained its<br />
independence from the <strong>Omaha</strong> School District.<br />
Due to rapid growth, finding enough classroom<br />
space continued to be a challenge. While new<br />
schools were being built, area shopping malls<br />
were occasionally used as temporary<br />
classrooms. Construction of new schools<br />
continued in the 1980s, but at a slower pace.<br />
In 1984 the Millard Public Schools<br />
Foundation launched the first before and after<br />
school childcare program in an elementary<br />
school. It was called “Kids Network” and is<br />
now available in all elementary schools.<br />
Throughout the 1990s, and continuing today,<br />
the Millard School District has added schools.<br />
It now operates three high schools, six middle<br />
schools, and 22 elementary schools.<br />
The Millard community has historically<br />
made the support of its schools a priority,<br />
approving twelve straight bond elections,
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