Announcements

Elizabeth Deng and Madison Carleton of Ankeny Centennial and Kalyani Bhat of Northview Middle School are finalists in The Iowa State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division “Know Your Constitution” Project. 76 finalists were selected from the more than 500 students across the State of Iowa who participated in the “Know Your Constitution” Project. These finalists will be honored at a Virtual Awards Program over Zoom on February 15, 2022.

From the finalists, five students and their teachers will be chosen by a random drawing to receive scholarship grants and honoraria in recognition of their efforts.

The “Know Your Constitution” Project is designed to enrich students’ understanding and appreciation of the Constitution. The students participating in the project were required to familiarize themselves with Constitution related issues. A quiz was completed by each participating student. An essay question accompanied the quiz. This year’s essay topic involved Constitutional questions concerning qualifications for Social Security payments and the restriction that recipients must not leave the United States for more than 30 days. The question is modelled after a current case before the United State Supreme Court. “Best Essay” finalists will be posted to the ISBA website, with an overall winner announced during the Zoom program.

The Know Your Constitution program is sponsored by The Iowa State Bar Association, with additional funding from the Iowa State Bar Foundation and IOLTA.

As we approach our final weeks of first semester, it’s time to share our end-of-semester schedule. The purpose of this schedule is to ensure teachers and students have time to finalize course requirements so that ultimately, teachers can confidently determine students’ performance on the course standards. Please take a few moments to review our schedule below. Lunch will be served each day.

Let’s finish this semester strong!

The new edition of the Jaguar Journal, the Ankeny Centennial High School electronic newsletter for parents and students, is now available online.  The Jaguar Journal can help you keep up to date on important news and information, event dates, and opportunities at your student’s school.

Click here to view the Jaguar Journal Newsletter.

The state has released their annual online reporting tool called the Iowa School Performance Profiles, as required by a federal education law called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These profiles reflect how public schools performed on a set of accountability measures, such as results on the statewide assessment, graduation rates, and academic growth.

The tool displays a school’s score based on overall performance, as well as scores based on the performance of subgroups of students. Based on these scores, schools can be identified for additional funding, support, and improvement.

In order to put the information into perspective, below you will find links to the following charts. 

1. Comparisons between each of Ankeny’s schools to the state average
2. Comparison of Ankeny’s high schools to other area high schools

Ankeny High School Data (Commendable)
Ankeny Centennial High School Data (Commendable)
Southview Middle School Data (High Performing)
Northview Middle School Data (High Performing)
Parkview Middle School Data (Commendable)
Prairie Ridge Middle School Data (Commendable)
Ashland Ridge Elementary School Data (Exceptional)
Crocker Elementary School Data (High Performing)
East Elementary School Data (Acceptable)
Heritage Elementary School Data (Commendable)
Northeast Elementary School Data (High Performing)
Northwest Elementary School Data (Commendable)
Prairie Trail Elementary School Data (Exceptional)
Rock Creek Elementary School Data (High Performing)
Southeast Elementary School Data (Commendable)
Westwood Elementary School Data (High Performing)

To locate our school’s results, as well as more information about the Iowa School Performance Profiles and ESSA, visit the following website: www.iaschoolperformance.gov

Congratulations to all who were recognized at the Academic Awards ceremony earlier this month. If you were unable to attend or you would like to view the ceremony, it has been uploaded for viewing.

View the Academic Awards Ceremony here.

Holly Anderson, Activities Director at Northview Middle School, has been chosen as the 2022 Middle School Athletic Director of the Year by the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association. Holly was chosen for her outstanding dedication and leadership of young student-athletes.

“We are excited that Holly is receiving this much deserved recognition,” said Dr. Erick Pruitt, Superintendent of Ankeny Schools. “She is great leader, to both her students and also to her fellow staff members.”

Holly has been with the Ankeny Community School District for 16 years. Her previous roles for the district include P.E. teacher and girl’s basketball coach before beginning her current role in administration in 2013.

Honorees chosen as Athletic Director of the Year must have a minimum of five years’ experience and show qualities of achievement, excellence and character. Holly will be recognized at the annual IHSADA State Convention in March.

VIEW ON THE IHSADA WEBSITE

The Ankeny Board of Education voted to discontinue the September amendment to the Return to Learn Plan, which was originally scheduled to sunset on December 21, 2021. This effectively ends the mask requirement in Ankeny Schools beginning, Wednesday, December 8. Masks will still be required on buses in accordance with the Order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC continues to recommend that all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, and we recommend those who are able continue to follow this guidance to support the health and safety of both our students and staff.

The Iowa Department of Public Health provided guidance to school districts in May 2021 that requires parental notification when students are exposed to COVID-19. With this change to the Return to Learn Plan, you may begin receiving an increase in these notifications. Please note that due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), neither the district, school building secretary, nor your school nurse will be able to provide exact exposure information.

Furthermore, it remains vitally important that any students who are feeling ill stay home. Federal and state public health agencies have information available to help you understand COVID-19 symptoms and appropriate next steps if you and/or your children are experiencing them.

We continue to await a decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Iowa’s law prohibiting mask requirements in schools. If the court’s decision has any impact on our current mitigation procedures, we will notify our school community at that time.

Thank you,

Dr. Erick Pruitt
Superintendent of Schools

Congratulations to the Ankeny Centennial Winterguard! On Friday, December 4th they competed in the ISDTA State Championships at Wells Fargo Arena where they were named the State Champion in Color Guard Class III. This is their third state championship in the last 8 years.

“I am so proud of this group’s hard work and dedication. It has been a lot of fun seeing them progress through the season and really own their performance. They performed their hearts out on Friday and it was incredible to see!”
– Janelle Hook, director

The Centennial Winterguard’s production is entitled “Alice”, featuring music by Danny Elfman from the movie “Alice in Wonderland”.

The Centennial Winterguard consists of 24 students in grades 9-12 and is directed by Janelle Hook and Olivia Klaas.

The Ankeny Community School District and Superintendent Dr. Erick Pruitt invite parents/guardians to attend the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting on Thursday, December 9 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Northview Middle School in the Cafeteria. Please park on the west side of the building near the football stadium and enter through doors W22.

We will be sharing information about our new learning management system, Canvas, the resources available to teachers as outcomes of curriculum reviews, and reporting student progress with standards.

The Parent Advisory Committee gives parents an opportunity to provide input on topics and ideas that are relevant to the district’s goal of preparing every learner for success. The committee will also provide insight into projects and initiatives that can be implemented to help move the district forward. Parents and guardians will have the opportunity to collaborate with each other and work together as one entity to ensure success for our students and community.

Committee involvement is open to all parents of students enrolled in the Ankeny Community School District.