ANKENY, Iowa – Ankeny Community School Board approves new boundaries for its south feeder elementary schools.
In a four to two vote the boundaries will change for the 2020-2021 school year. The boundary approved is ‘Option B.’
Ankeny Community Schools Director of Communication Samantha Aukes said, “This boundary map will impact roughly 40 percent of the students in our south feeder. So that incorporates all of the terrace community and then smaller chunks of students from three of the other elementary in the south feeder.”
Aukes said the only elementary school not impacted by the new boundary change is Crocker.
This comes as the district plans to open its 11th elementary school, Heritage in the fall of 2020. An estimated 800 students will be able to attend the school.
Terrace Elementary will be repurposed as a hub for the district’s preschool students.
“With making Terrace a centralized preschool center that allows us to pool all of those kids out of our elementary classes in both the north and south feeder and that frees up elementary class space,” Aukes said.
Aukes said an estimated 300 students are expected to attend preschool at Terrace.
“As you know we are one of the fastest growing districts in the state and fastest growing population for us is elementary kids and so we need all of the elementary classes we can get,” Aukes said.
Ankeny Resident Todd Hessel said his two kids currently attend East Elementary and will transfer to Southeast Elementary in the fall.
“They love their school, they love their friends, they love their teachers so a move is going to be really difficult,” Hessel said.
Aukes said the district has in place different strategies like one-on-one sessions and welcome nights to make the transition easier for students.
“Our administrators are experienced in that transition. Our teachers are experienced in that transition and as a team we are ready to help our parents and students make that transition to a new elementary,” Aukes said.
Click here to see a full map of the new boundaries.
