Tutoring in Omaha, Nebraska
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Omaha, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Omaha is covered by several districts, and the city limits do not match any of them. Omaha Public Schools serves the older core of the city. Westside, also called District 66, sits in the middle of it, Millard takes the southwest, Elkhorn the far west, and Ralston and Bennington cover smaller areas. Omaha Public Schools assigns each address a neighborhood school and also runs a school selection process each year for families who want a different one, with its own timeline for applications and transportation.
State tests Omaha students take
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
| Math | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | NSCAS | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | NSCAS Science | Not tested | Not tested | NSCAS Science | Not tested | Not tested | ACT | Not tested |
- NSCAS (Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- NSCAS Science: science, grades 5 and 8
- ACT: reading and writing, math, science, grade 11
Public high school students must complete and submit the FAFSA to graduate, a rule that began with the class of 2025. A parent or guardian can sign an opt-out form instead, and the form stays with the school.
Testing dates and graduation rules for the whole state are on a separate page. Nebraska guide
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for NSCAS. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
It runs in a browser, so it works the same in Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista, Ralston, Gretna and Council Bluffs as it does in Omaha.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
In Omaha, ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor at Omaha Public Schools can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. After that, try students at University of Nebraska Omaha, Creighton University, Metropolitan Community College or College of Saint Mary, who took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.