City: Des Moines, IA

Category: Education

Telephone: (515) 242-7911

Address: 901 Walnut St.

Description: The district has 32,000 students from Des Moines and surrounding communities who attend 40 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 5 high schools, as well as 1 alternative school apiece for middle school and high school students. The racial mix of the district is 50 percent Caucasian, 21 percent Hispanic, 17 percent African-American, 5.5 percent Asian, and 6.5 percent other. More than 10 percent of students speak a native language other than English, totaling over 40 languages, and the school offers English as a Second Language classes (ESL). About 55 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. The citywide average high school graduation rate is around 80 percent. The district’s average ACT score has been slightly lower than the state average, and every high school student is required to take the ACT. High school students have the opportunity to attend classes at the district’s Central Academy, located downtown, which offers advanced placement classes for college credit as well as the international baccalaureate curriculum, a mode of learning that teaches students to ask challenging questions and understand other countries and cultures. Students from outside the Des Moines district are eligible to attend classes at Central Academy, and come from nearly 40 districts throughout the metro area and central Iowa. The district also operates Central Campus, which offers classes in numerous career and technical programs, including college prep areas, and is also open to students from outside the district. The international baccalaureate curriculum is also utilized in a few elementary and middle schools, and there are other unique programs at the elementary level, including Cowles Montessori, a public Montessori school located in Windsor Heights, and the downtown school, which has combined grade levels and a year-round class schedule (there are a few other year-round elementary schools in the district). Beginning with the 2011–12 school year it will move to Central Campus, on the western edge of downtown. Both these elementary schools draw students from throughout the city and metro area. Preschool programs are offered at locations throughout the city.