The Ankeny Community School District is a public school district located in Polk County, Iowa and is 6 mi from the capital city, Des Moines. Headquartered in Ankeny, the district is well known in Iowa for accomplishments in academics, athletics and activities. Ankeny Schools are accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (AdvancEd) and the Iowa Department of Education, and are part of the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML). For more than a decade, the district has been one of the fastest growing school districts in Iowa, averaging student enrollment growth of more than 300 students per year during that time. The district will serve more than 9,380 students in 2012–2013 and is the 8th largest district in the state (by total students served). By 2015-2016, the district is projected to enroll 10,446 students and by 2017–2018 the district is projected to enroll 11,282 students. Physically, the district encompasses 51.93 mi2 and has more than 360540 mi driven by buses per year. The district serves most of Ankeny, a very small portion of Polk City, and also a section of the Saylorville census-designated place.

History

The first school in Ankeny was a log cabin, built in 1850, twenty years before Crocker Township was organized as a civil township. Ankeny's first school was located approximately 1 mi south of town where the east entrance of the Iowa State Experimental farm joined Highway 69. This school was later re-located on the east side of Ankeny Boulevard, just south of First Street. Records show that Mr. A. H. Feigenbaum was one of the early teachers, serving in one of the one-room schools about 1880. The early roster includes other names such as Mrs. Hattie Cornwall, a Miss Benedict, Miss Maude Kennedy, and Mrs. John Wagner as a substitute. The district's first official "graduating class" was the five-person class of 1914. Consolidation came to Ankeny in 1919, at which time the oldest part of the Neveln building was built. Several country school houses were moved to the grounds to accommodate the increased enrollment. There was no further new construction until 1952 when the original part of the Parkview building was constructed. In 1957, the west wing was added and in 1964 an east wing was completed. In 1964, Parkview became Ankeny High School. Later, the facility was repurposed and renamed as "Parkview Middle School." Northwest Elementary on West 1st Street was the first building to open after the original Parkview building. It was completed in 1962. Additional buildings include (in order of opening): In 2009, construction began on the new Ankeny High School in Prairie Trail, and construction on the new Ankeny Centennial High School began with a groundbreaking ceremony on September 1, 2010. In August 2011, the new Ankeny High School opened, along with Phase I of Southview Middle School. At this time, the previous high school became a middle school for 8th and 9th grades. In 2011 the district also experienced its first division on the way to two secondary school systems, by moving to two 6th–7th grade middle schools: Prairie Ridge Middle School for the north feeder system and Parkview Middle School for the south feeder system. In 2013–2014 the district opened Ankeny Centennial High School, marking the first time in four decades in which a school district in Iowa expanded to two high schools. The name, "Ankeny Centennial High School" is in honor of 100 years of graduating classes in Ankeny Community Schools. The Class of 2013 was the 100th graduating class, graduating just three months prior to the opening of the school. At the same time, East Elementary School was expanded to accommodate three sections of students at each grade level (K-5). The district redrew the attendance boundaries of its southern elementary schools in 2019, and began planning for a third high school that same year.

Expansion

Since 2008, Ankeny Schools has been experiencing a period of rapid enrollment growth, with 300+ new students joining the school district each year. The Ankeny School district opened its second high school in 2013-2014 and now operates two, fully functioning secondary school systems.

Enrollment

Academics

Some of the recent academic accomplishments of Ankeny students include: • 96.4% graduation rate – No. 1 is the 6th largest district in Iowa by student enrollment (2017–2018) • 0.25% dropout rate in grades 7-12 – (2017–2018) • 23.3 average composite score on ACT, while state average is 21.6 and national is 20.7 (2019 grad. class) • 1.04 (Centennial) and 1.22 (Ankeny) AP Index on the Belin and Blank Iowa AP Index (2019)

Honors

Schools

The district currently has 16 school buildings, using a PK, K-5, 6–7, 8–9, 10–12 grade level structure in two complete "feeder systems": North Feeder System South Feeder System

Notable alumni