Are you curious about how the 2025 G.O. Bond benefits your student's activities? Activities Directors Mike Bakker (AHS) and Nate Lingren (CHS) are on our latest podcast! They discuss the positive impact the bond will have on stage technology, fine art classroom expansions, and relief for overcrowded spaces with athletic performance centers. Listen to us on your favorite podcast streaming service or directly from our website, ankenyschools.org...
Jun 20, 2025•25 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Ankeny Schools is committed to building the next generation of leaders. Today's guests, students Josalie Buban, Quincee Hansen, Cherop Kipruto, Zina Ishibwammi, and Kayci Piva, with Northview Middle School team member Renee Potts, share their experience at the Student Voice Symposium, where they and 50 other Ankeny high school and middle school students built on their advocacy, civic engagement, and other leadership skills at an event hosted by the West Des Moines Community School District....
Jun 10, 2025•20 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Dr. Pruitt breaks down the G.O. (General Obligation) Bond. He and his guests explain the process of getting the bond on the ballot for a vote, and the academic and facility school projects it will pay for. Learn about the rules surrounding bonds, including what school officials can and can't say in support of the bond, and how the funds are required to be used. It's a great way to understand how Ankeny Schools plans for the future.
May 28, 2025•15 min•Season 4Ep. 19
This episode breaks down how our public school funding works — where the money comes from and how we’re allowed to budget those funds. As Ankeny Schools collects petition signatures for a 2025 General Obligation (G.O.) Bond, Dr. Pruitt, CFO Eric Brown, and Chief Communications Officer Samantha Aukes as they explain why it’s never as simple as sharing the bottom line. For more information, visit AnkenySchools.org
May 09, 2025•17 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Have you heard of Ankeny School's Long-Range 10-Year Academic and Facility Plan ? Get the big picture in this first episode of a new series on this plan with Superintendent Dr. Erick Pruitt and Assistant Superintendents Dr. Amy Dittmar and Dr. Darin Haack. Know why it matters and what’s ahead. Future episodes will cover school funding, proposed facilities, the General Obligation Bond, and more. Stay tuned & Stay informed.
Apr 22, 2025•23 min•Season 4Ep. 17
It's the final installment of the Nourishing Schools series. Dr. Pruitt finds out nothing is off-topic when you have 9th graders on the mic. Brandon, Destinee, and Aniyah prove that giving back is not just about building resumes and share what brought them to volunteer at the Northview Middle School food pantry and what motivates them to continue.
Apr 05, 2025•18 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, and kindergarten are the topics in this episode. Joining Dr. Pruitt are Sheila Schmidt, Principal of Terrace Learning Center Preschool; Tara Owen, Executive Director of Elementary Education for Ankeny Schools; and Kelli Olson Babcock, a dedicated transitional kindergarten teacher in the Ankeny School District as they answer the questions they get from parents the most and provide valuable information about each of the programs and the difference between them...
Mar 21, 2025•44 min•Season 4Ep. 15
If you are or know someone preparing for their first job in education, you can't afford to miss this podcast! Kevin Biggs - Principal, Southview Middle School, Kristin Barber - Principal, Northeast Elementary School, and Justin Mohr - Asst. Director Human Resources are Ankeny Schools administrators actively involved in the hiring process and sharing valuable insights with host Dr. Erick Pruitt about the pitfalls to avoid and best practices to master in the race to get that first teaching, school...
Feb 06, 2025•44 min•Season 4Ep. 14
"... And now for something completely different." It's been SAId is a podcast produced by the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI). We're republishing their episode with Ankeny's Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Darin Haack. He shares his experience with SAI's Individualized Leadership Coaching program. Tune in to hear how Ankeny Schools is leading by example - proving that learning is a lifelong journey.
Jan 30, 2025•27 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Tune in to hear host, Ken Morris, Jr., Ankeny Schools' Chief Diversity Officer with guests Abby Canfield - Southeast Elementary Social Worker, Kelsey Leaper - Prairie Trail Elementary Counselor, Micaela Tuttle - Assistant Principal at Southeast Elementary, as they explore the use of restorative practice as a way to build stronger connections, promote understanding and encourage collaboration in their building communities. Restorative practice focuses on open communication and working together. F...
Jan 14, 2025•44 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Dr. Pruitt is celebrating multilingualism and the journey of our Ankeny students breaking through language barriers and swinging doors to fluency wide open! Ankeny Teachers Lissa Fulkerson, Marcella Mallet, and Brooke Fry have a lot to say about their students and the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Program. Despite the added cultural, language, social, and even dietary challenges they face while continuing their academic studies, these students are highly motivated and thriving. ...
Dec 30, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 11
In this episode, Dr. Amy Dittmar , ACSD Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services, sits down with A my Ingersoll & Kayla Feld , Lighthouse Coordinators at Prairie Trail and Heritage Elementary, and Ben Muller , Principal of Prairie Trail Elementary. They’re talking all about Leader in Me —a powerful program teaching students leadership, accountability, and confidence—and celebrating the incredible accomplishment of several Ankeny schools achieving Lighthouse School certification ! Join t...
Dec 17, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 10
When schools, nonprofits like the Food Bank of Iowa, students, and dedicated staff come together, real change happens. Ankeny Schools Community Engagement Specialist, Madisen Gaskin hosts a roundtable discussion with Michelle Book, CEO & President of Food Bank of Iowa, Scott Litchfield the Director of Nutrition Services for Ankeny Schools, and Leah Clark Ankeny Northview Middle School Social Worker to discuss food insecurity by-the-numbers in our community.
Nov 13, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Ankeny HS seniors Maxx Tyler and Alli Macke, student interns at Casey's Corporate offices, want to know how their Orbis Program experience is influencing plans for the new Innovative Hub building. Superintendent, Dr. Erick Pruitt and Samantha Aukes, Chief of Communications for Ankeny Schools are answering ALL of their questions. Tune in!
Oct 31, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Madisen Gaskin, Community Engagement Specialist for Ankeny Schools hosts Ankeny Schools staff, Leah Clark - Social Worker, Erin Van Dorin - Associate Principal BEYOND & Summit High School programs, and Shawn Beirman - Social Emotional Learning Specialist on this podcast to discuss what led to opening Ankeny's school-based food pantries in partnership with the Food Bank of Iowa.
Oct 11, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 7
It's another student takeover. 6th graders Ella, CeCi, and Lucy have questions for Dr. Pruitt and they want answers. Testing their investigative reporter skills, these ladies don't shy away from the hard-hitting questions from "Do you decide if there's a snow day?" to "What's it like being a girl dad?". Tune in to a special student takeover of We Are Ankeny.
Sep 27, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 6
This is the first of a special topic series we're introducing this season. The topic is Restorative Practice and your host is Shawn Beirman, Social Emotional Specialist for Ankeny Schools. In this episode, Shawn introduces you to restorative practices and three theories that ACSD focuses on in educating administrators and teachers including Social Emotional Window, Fair Process Act, and Affects.
Sep 09, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Not many people know what a Community Engagement department does, but Madisen Gaskin, Community Engagement Coordinator for Ankeny Schools, and her team have big plans to change that. Madisen is at the mic with Dr. Pruitt talking about how volunteers contribute to schools and the district overall, developing new community education classes and how the term intergenerational is integral to the Community Engagement purpose and goals.
Aug 30, 2024•21 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Their experience is the Ankeny Experience! Teachers new to the Ankeny District, Mariah Hoium at Prairie Trail Elementary, Nick Robinson at Centennial High School, and Mary Stewart at Southeast Elementary, share their hopes, expectations, and plans for the 24-25 school year with superintendent Dr. Eric Pruitt on the We Are Ankeny podcast. Listen Here or find our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or Audible....
Aug 17, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The second Student Takeover of Season 4 features host Miles, Xavier, Maddie, and Lou, as they talk about moving from buildings (7th to 8th grade) and becoming high school 9th graders. You can also listen to We Are Ankeny Podcasts on Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and Apple Podcast.
Aug 08, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Ankeny High seniors Charles Christensen and Griffen Nye turn the microphones on and interview ACSD Superintendent Dr. Erick Pruitt and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Darin Haack. Music is the topic so sit back and join in on song recommendations, album critiques, and favorite confessions.
Jul 01, 2024•35 min•Season 4Ep. 1
It's a podcast takeover by Ankeny Centennial graduated senior Mya Maronn. She's invited student entrepreneurs Logan Sobaski, Charli Brady, and Emma Bececk. Hear advice on pitfalls to avoid, pushing boundaries, and pursuing interests for the under-18 entrepreneur.
Jun 20, 2024•26 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Burnt ends are on the menu today as the Ankeny Schools' Nutritional Services team launches the 2024 Summer Food Program. Director of Nutrition Services Scott Litchfield, Chef Joe Weitz, and Dietitian Susan Carlson have a lot to discuss and celebrate about this summer and plans for the 2024-25 school meal programs. For more information visit the Nutrition Services page on the AnkenySchools.org website.
Jun 06, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Parkview Middle School student, Miles, has taken over the "Let's Talk About It" podcast! He takes you on a behind-the-scenes tour of Parkview's 2024 spring play Goldilocks on Trial. Miles (actor) with fellow Parkview student Avery (set designer & builder), and Ms. Alexa Long (teacher sponsor and producer) talk about the process of bringing the play to life and how more students can get involved.
Apr 02, 2024•17 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Student voices are crucial to a thriving academic community. This show introduces you to student school board representatives Megan Rembert and Kalyani Baht and Ankeny Centennial student council member Mya Maron. The next generation of leadership begins here, take a listen.
Mar 20, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Ankeny Schools is preparing the next generation of public school teachers and administrators. Our Teacher's Academy is a concurrent course with Des Moines Area Community College's Foundations of Education where Ankeny students earn college credit and classroom experience. Students Anna Sash and Ingrid Dietrich give you an inside look at their experiences. Join Teacher Academy instructor Julie Blevins and Northeast Elementary 5th grade teacher and Teacher Academy mentor Jessie Purviance at the go...
Mar 08, 2024•21 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Join guests Kayla Bell-Consolver the Director of the Counseling Center at Broadlawns Community Clinic at Drake University, Shawn Beirman the Social-Emotional Learning Specialist at Ankeny Schools, and Al Neppl, Director of Professional and Leadership Development at Ankeny Schools as they discuss the importance of soft skills like adaptability, empathy, and collaboration for students.
Jan 11, 2024•50 min•Season 3Ep. 4
We know students have different learning styles, so in this episode, we're shining a light on project-based learning (PBL). Our guests include Jason Clark, a teacher at Ankeny Centennial High School. He's adopted PBL as his method of teaching. Hannah Robertson is a Des Moines Area consultant on PBL and a recent instructor at Ankeny's summer teacher academy and Dr. Amy Dittmar, Assistant Superintendent of Ankeny Schools. She leads the planning team for Ankeny School's new Innovative Hub. You'll f...
Dec 27, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Opening Fall 2024! Dr. Pruitt has the new Abbie Grove principal- Andrew Burg, Executive Director of Elementary Education- Tara Owen, and District K-5 Teacher Librarian- Corissa Thompson on to give you a peek at what it takes to open an elementary building in Ankeny.
Dec 12, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On November 7, 2023, Ankeny residents will vote on the renewal of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy. This renewal happens every 10 years, and the funds are used by Ankeny Community Schools to make building repairs, purchase new equipment, and increase security systems. Listen and learn about PPEL and it's relationship to the Ankeny Community through Ankeny Schools.
Oct 05, 2023•11 min•Season 3Ep. 1
