Des Moines Public Schools serves 30,000 students from a diversity of backgrounds, coming from over 80 nations and speaking more than 100 languages and dialects. We believe this diversity strengthens us as a school district.

DMPS expects every student to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. An important part in realizing that expectation is the setting of goals and guardrails by the School Board.

The process of setting goals and guardrails includes gathering input from the community at public sessions and online surveys; gathering a host of district and school data;  collaboratively reviewing and analyzing all of this information by the School Board, the Superintendent, and school district staff. (NOTE: for more information on this process, please click here.)

As a result, the School Board set goals in three priority areas: Early Literacy; Literacy for Black and Latinx middle school students; and Career Readiness. The communities’ values were also reaffirmed and updated into the five guardrails.

The following goals and guardrails were adopted by the School Board on May 21, 2024:

GOALS

  • Goal 1: The percentage of 4th grade students scoring proficient or advanced on the ISASP ELA assessment will increase from 50.1% in Spring 2023 to 65.0% in Spring 2027.
  • Goal 2. The percentage of Black and Latinx 8th grade students scoring proficient or advanced on the ISASP ELA assessment will increase from 38.5% in Spring 2023 to 55.0% in Spring 2027.
  • Goal 3: The percentage of DMPS Seniors by the end of their fourth year of high school who have achieved four or more of the DMPS Future Ready indicators as measured by the DMPS framework of Enroll/Employ/Enlist will increase from xx% in xxxx to yy% in yyyy.

GUARDRAILS

  • Guardrail 1: The Superintendent shall not allow inequitable access for ELL students, or the continuation of systems that allow for it.
  • Guardrail 2: The Superintendent shall not allow the social emotional learning needs of staff and all students to be unaddressed.
  • Guardrail 3: The Superintendent shall not allow the composition of the teaching and learning staff to diverge from the diverse demographics of the student population while utilizing equitable and inclusive hiring practices conducted in accordance with cultural responsivity.
  • Guardrail 4: The Superintendent shall not allow an environment in the classroom for both students and staff that is psychologically and physically unsafe and unwelcome.
  • Guardrail 5: The superintendent shall not allow an environment that allows families and viable community partners to be excluded, uninvited, and unwelcome into the district’s activities and endeavors.