Elementary School Attendance Areas

Planning for the Future

The year was 1987. Ronald Reagan was President. Hayden Fry coached the Iowa football team. The Simpsons premiered on TV. Michael Jackson was at the top of the music charts. The Berlin Wall was still standing. A gallon of gas cost 89 cents.

And, Des Moines Public Schools did the last major change of its school attendance areas.

A lot of things change in more than a quarter of a century, both around the world and here at home.

To respond to change in order to better serve our students and meet the needs of our schools, Des Moines Public Schools adopted new attendance areas for our elementary schools. These changes were unanimously approved by the School Board on May 6, 2014. The most significant and positive result in almost every case is that the attendance areas of our elementary, middle and high schools will now better align, creating a more consistent “feeder system” throughout the district.

What does this mean for elementary education in Des Moines? Several good things:

• More neighborhood students will be able to attend their neighborhood school
• Enrollment will be better balanced between our school buildings
• Our school buildings will be better utilized
• Elementary schools will be more aligned with our secondary schools

Out of 15,500 elementary students in Des Moines, approximately 8% could be impacted by these proposed changes. However, most will have the option to “grandfather” this change, making the actual short-term much less.

These changes go into effect for the 2015-16 school year.

For additional information – including maps, a schedule of public meetings, and frequently-asked questions – please visit the items in the menu to the right.