K-12 Schools

Activities (20 Responses)

• Offer:

o “Planet 9” (a transition program for students entering ninth grade at Valley Southwoods)
o More intramurals
o More information of school activities and what they are about
o Interschool sports at earlier age
o More programs over spring break

• Need more after school activities for teens and middle school aged children
• Provide more diverse activities for students (not just sports)
• Provide more opportunities for middle school and high school students who are not the “best” (i.e. pep band, intramural band)

Class, School Size and Boundaries (17 Responses)

• Need:

o Two high schools so kids know each other well and have more opportunities
o More classrooms, more diversity, more united school district
o Small neighborhood schools with small classes
o More schools to eliminate cap outs
o New building for the alternative high school

• Have school district boundaries match city boundaries
• Address declining enrollment

Curriculum (11 Responses)

• Improve academic level by offering enrichment, more challenging and “real world” classes
• Allow physical education to be taken twice (second as an elective)
• Continue athletic and music programs beyond middle school for those who don’t make the school teams
• Increase physical education time
• Expand literacy program
• Expand and strengthen technology classes, computer programming, etc.
• Emphasize character development
• Offer mandatory substance abuse, violence prevention and life skills classes
• Encourage nursing careers

Alternative Options (11 Responses)

• Offer all-day kindergarten
• Offer alternative programs for the kids who aren’t in the top 25 percent of their class and those who need positive reinforcement
• Give further study to a West Des Moines Academy
• Provide money for home schooling
• Promote awareness of learning differences and provide more educational learning style options
• Change school day (8:00 to 4:00) and have older children help younger kids with homework from 2:00 to 4:00

Collaboration (9 Responses)

• Have Character Counts throughout all schools, businesses and community
• Find ways to involve schools and business partners
• Keep schools strong
• Have more involvement within schools
• Engage more people in agreement with school’s direction and needs
• Hold programs that bring schools together (i.e. Dowling and Valley)
• Establish West Des Moines Academy with unique specialties and services
• Mandate parental involvement at school

Communication (8 Responses)

• Do exit survey with graduating students
• Create student newsletter about opportunities for community involvement
• Get our own TV channel to publicize school information
• Promote more awareness of school activities and what they are about
• Find ways of communicating about school events for people who don’t receive the West Des Moines Register section
• Inform voters with no children of good things about our schools
• Keep telling kids when molesters move close to schools

Atmosphere (6 Responses)

• Eliminate use of fear as a teaching utility
• Have a district juvenile liaison officer
• Have common goal for kids to bond
• Play radio between Valley High School classes
• Implement uniforms in K-12
• Enforce dress codes
• Evaluate importance of activities that take time away from teaching

Health (6 Responses)

• Need:

o Full-time nurse at each elementary school
o Special education health services in each school
o More mental and physical wellness for children
o School programs to address childhood obesity (don’t cut physical education classes)

• Get kids outside away from all electronics (offer Frisbee park, skateboard ramps, etc.)

Staff (4 Responses)

• Provide more independence for teachers
• Hire educators, administrators and staff who are more reflective of the student body
• Need more personalization (teacher/student relationships)
• Improve Personal Adult Advocate program at Valley High School
• Offer part-time or job sharing opportunities for moms to work in school

Transportation and Parking (4 Responses)

• Need more parking at Valley High School and by the new stadium
• Need more school guards and traffic education

Financial (4 Responses)

• Provide cheaper admissions to conference sport events
• Find creative ways of fundraising
• Have scholarship and assistance programs
• Start up redemption center for bottles and cans with the money donated to the schools

Cultural Awareness (4 Responses)

• Teach about different ethnic and cultural groups
• Hold school events to increase awareness of increasing diversity

Mentoring (3 Responses)

• Have high school students mentor younger kids
• Have kids partner with less fortunate schools
• Have middle school kids serve as peer mentors to:

o Students with disabilities
o English as a Second Language (ESL) students
o Students who are “not the best”
o Students with special learning need