Ankeny Schools Snapshot
A monthly district newsletter
December 2022
Advancing the Vision
with Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Erick Pruitt
Throughout the country, school districts have been working to respond to concerns about school safety. In Ankeny, we have had a number of situations that caused us to implement safety responses this year.
I understand each time this happens, it can be alarming to receive information about safety concerns. There may be members of our community that want to know more about district and school safety procedures and how they are followed. How are allegations handled? How are active threats addressed? Are our schools safe?
The safety and security of Ankeny Community School District’s students and staff are our utmost priorities. Each day, there are a number of safeguards in place to keep our schools safe, including controlled access to our school buildings which requires visitors to check in through the RAPTOR system, school staff providing supervision in the hallways, safety drills to prepare for emergency situations and more.
In addition to the safety measures through our infrastructure, the district has professionals who are trained to respond to school emergencies. Their training helps them evaluate threats and determine the best response to each circumstance. As each situation is unique, the responses to these situations are specific to what is taking place at the time.
Everyday, we strive to create a safe environment for our students and staff and we value our parents and community as partners in safety. We are a community school district and ultimately, safety within our buildings is a collective responsibility in which every community member contributes.
It is critical for students, staff, parents and community members to share any concerning information with school administrators or anonymously through our TIPS reporting system. We want to be clear about the district’s practices when it comes to student behavior and safety concerns. Any student behavior that impacts the orderly and efficient operation of the school may be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including expulsion.
To add to all this, the nation is also grappling with child mental health and substance abuse pandemics. All these issues are connected and amplify each other. Ankeny Community School District is prepared to connect families with the experts in our community that have been trained to support mental health and substance abuse issues. The district will continue to focus on our primary purpose of educating our nearly 13,000 students. We want to equip parents with information and resources as they help their children navigate these realities outside of school. That is why we are hosting a Community Conversation on Jan. 19 at the FFA Enrichment Center at DMACC from 6-8 p.m. At this event, we’ll invite experts to discuss topics such as school safety, the intersection of mental health and substance abuse and more. We’ll also host a resource fair to connect parents with the tools they need to support their children. This event will be for all parents with children 18 and under, so please mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details.
As we conclude the year, I hope you are able to spend time with family, friends and loved ones enjoying the break.
Happy Holidays!
Thank you,
Dr. Erick D. Pruitt
Superintendent of Schools
Literacy Curriculum: We Need Your Input!
All curricular areas engage in a review process in order to ensure that students have the most effective learning experience along with access to the most up-to-date and research-based resources. This year, the district's literacy curriculum will begin the process of a full review. Literacy curriculum includes learning to read, write, speak and listen and also how to use reading and listening to learn and writing and speaking to communicate learning. The review will evaluate which standards teachers think should be prioritized from the Iowa Core for each grade level and/or course. In addition, it will clarify what it means to meet those prioritized standards and engage in an in-depth review of what science currently says are best practices in literacy instruction. The review will also evaluate the most appropriate resources to use when engaging students in those best practices of instruction.
We are seeking community input in order to gather information from all stakeholders about the current state of the literacy curriculum, as well as what the community is looking for in future literacy learning and implementation. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions by clicking here. Your answers will be reviewed by the curriculum advisory team and used to develop goals for our future delivery of literacy instruction.
Kindergarten Onsite Parent Meeting
All elementary schools will host a kindergarten information night on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. for families who are considering enrolling their child for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. Registration opens to all families on Friday, Feb. 3. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for families to learn more about kindergarten at your child's home building before registration opens. Parents will also turn in their child's kindergarten checklist, learn more about Jumpstart, and meet other families at your child's school. We look forward to partnering with you as your child begins their educational experience with Ankeny Schools!
More info on our website: https://www.ankenyschools.org/registrar/kindergarten/
Registration Heads Up!
Mark your calendar! Registration for the 2023-2024 school year opens on Friday, Feb. 3rd at 8:00 a.m.
Who needs to complete registration? Everyone!
All existing families are required to complete the annual update for each student in their household using the Infinite Campus portal. This is also where existing families can add a child who is new to the district, such as incoming preschool or kindergarten students.
For your student to be placed in their home building, it’s crucial that you register as soon as possible. Waiting to register may result in your student being assigned to a different building. This is because some buildings fill up very quickly. Don’t wait!
To keep up on ACSD events, please visit our Events Calendar.
Computer Science: Adapting to the Future of Tech
While many parents may personally be more familiar with keyboarding and information literacy classes from their days in school, ACSD has taken care to incorporate cutting-edge media and data literacy standards into our district’s computer science curriculum. The district has taken curriculum standards from the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE), American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the State of Iowa to transform media and data literacy classes into a robust computer science curriculum that integrates seamlessly into every aspect of education.
While students K-5th grade can still elect to participate in a typing program called Keyboarding Without Tears, students can also practice their hand at coding the very kind of media they consume through ACSD’s computer science curriculum. While computer science is much more than just code, students enjoy using free software to work with the building blocks of technology to construct logic gates, puzzles and games—just like the ones they might enjoy playing with their family or on their phones with friends. Coding, and the entire computer science curriculum, helps students develop and practice problem solving, critical thinking and perseverance. Mindful skills that will help students succeed, no matter what field they choose to go into in the future. Many of our students recently participated in an Hour of Code, a program designed to help anyone, no matter their circumstances, practice computer science and coding.
All around us, our world is moving and running on computer science, technology and code. With our district’s computer science program, students get to work with the building blocks of technology that make up the world around us.
Ankeny Community School District
It is the policy of the Ankeny Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy please contact Ken Morris, Jr., Equity Director at 306 SW School Street, Ankeny, IA 50023, 515/965-9600 or kenneth.morris@ankenyschools.org. The grievance will then be directed to the appropriate administrator charged with managing the program or department specified in the grievance.
Website: www.ankenyschools.org
Location: 306 SW School St, Ankeny, IA, USA
Phone: 515-965-9600
Facebook: Facebook.com/AnkenySchools
Twitter: @AnkenySchools