Iowa High School BEDS count 24-25

[Saul_T]

Why do you think there is only one public high school in WDM - athletics.

When they had to vote to either expand Valley Southwoods into the second high school in WDM or expand Valley, the expansion at Valley won easily. The supporters of keeping one high school made it clear that Valley would not be split because it would ruin their athletic programs, and there were already two high schools in WDM - Valley and Dowling.

WDM Valley has more kids transfer in for academics and arts than athletics, so I would certainly dispute your point.

Valley Southwoods was the worst decision the WDMCS district has made. Its initial intentions of having a building to prepare freshman for high school by having all of the resources a student would need in the same "pod" or team was a great idea and was successful. Teams went away about 10 years ago and Southwoods has been nothing but a holding ground for 9th graders since there's no room at Valley. With no role models and no real consequences for actions, Southwoods is a festering boil waiting to pop.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

There’s also a distinction to be made between not splitting up vs merging.

They've outgrown the building at West and the city is growing away from East. They were going to either have to build a new West or just put the two together in a bigger, better building that serves the whole city. It makes the most financial sense.

Elementary is going to be K-5 as it is now, the 4 middle schools are going from 6-8 to 6-7 which alleviates the stress on Hoover Middle (currently 900 kids in a building built for 650), and East/West are going to be 8-9 with the new HS being 10-12 and attached to the Career Center that they built a few years ago.

 

[Three4Cy]

WDM Valley has more kids transfer in for academics and arts than athletics, so I would certainly dispute your point.

Valley Southwoods was the worst decision the WDMCS district has made. Its initial intentions of having a building to prepare freshman for high school by having all of the resources a student would need in the same "pod" or team was a great idea and was successful. Teams went away about 10 years ago and Southwoods has been nothing but a holding ground for 9th graders since there's no room at Valley. With no role models and no real consequences for actions, Southwoods is a festering boil waiting to pop.

The vote to do this was over 20 years ago. Certainly, things have changed over 20 years, especially with the growth of Waukee. However, as someone who lived in the WDM school district at that time and had neighbors with kids in WDM schools who played sports, they were very much against a 2nd high school. Academics and the arts were the last thing they cared about - it was all about beating Dowling.

 

[somecyguy]

The way I always remembered the Cedar Rapids high schools was CR Wash (SE side) was old money, CR Kennedy (NW/NE side) was new money, CR Jeff (SW side) was no money. But this might have been more of an 80s/90s thing.

That's still mostly true; most of the old money kids have graduated but their parents remain in the district. So they get no support and its boundaries prevent any growth.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

WDM Valley has more kids transfer in for academics and arts than athletics, so I would certainly dispute your point.

Valley Southwoods was the worst decision the WDMCS district has made. Its initial intentions of having a building to prepare freshman for high school by having all of the resources a student would need in the same "pod" or team was a great idea and was successful. Teams went away about 10 years ago and Southwoods has been nothing but a holding ground for 9th graders since there's no room at Valley. With no role models and no real consequences for actions, Southwoods is a festering boil waiting to pop.

I doubt if Valley is getting a lot of athletes open enrolling into the district, the fear of many in the district was if they split the district that they would lose their spot at the top in all extra curriculars. Take half the athletes away, split between two competing schools and they both would struggle to beat Dowling and the growing suburban schools. Looking at the BEDs numbers if Ankeny and Waukee had taken the same approach they would have over 2800 kids in those three grades.

 

[Althetuna]

SEP is over double the size when I graduated (1991).

 

[throwittoblythe]

Out of interest, I did a quick search of the ole Google machine. The below site is interesting to look at and shows historical enrollment data in a graph form...

Ogden High School (Ranked Top 30% for 2024) - Ogden, IA

Ogden High School is ranked within the top 30% of all public schools in Iowa. Serving 214 students in grades 9-12, this school is located in Ogden, IA.

www.publicschoolreview.com

This is really interesting to see!

My school (Cascade) has really dropped off. It was about 600 students (jr high plus HS) in my day which was the all-time peak. Now it’s just a hair above 400. I believe they even dropped down to 1A and maybe even 8-man in FB.

 

[exCYtable]

Allemen is more towards the center of the district, and therefore when the district was formed it seemed like the correct place distance wise for everyone. No one thought that the population of Polk City would explode like it has and become the much larger town in the district.

Its hard to close a district or have one of the towns that has a school lose it to another town. In some of these towns the school is the major jobs provider, Gilbert is the same way, all the growth in the district is to the South and West of the town, but at least they are all located in Gilber.

No one thought the city with lakeside property would grow 10x faster than the one in the middle of a cornfield?

 

[CyPhallus]

No one thought the city with lakeside property would grow 10x faster than the one in the middle of a cornfield?

"Lakeside property" lol.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

No one thought the city with lakeside property would grow 10x faster than the one in the middle of a cornfield?

Looking at the census data from Polk City, it really didn't explode in growth until 2000 to 2010 increased 62% from 2010 to 2020.

1970 715,
1980 1658 when Saylorville was opened.
1990 1908
2000 2344
2010 3418
2020 5543.

So most of the growth has occurred since 2000, by then the school district was established and the high school was not going to be moved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polk_City,_Iowa

 

[alarson]

SEP is over double the size when I graduated (1991).

When I graduated in 2003 I'm pretty sure my graduating class was like 160 at waukee. My class was around 90 I think when my family moved there in 93. Between waukee and Northwest now they're pushing 900 per class

 

[fcclone]

When I graduated in 2003 I'm pretty sure my graduating class was like 160 at waukee. My class was around 90 I think when my family moved there in 93. Between waukee and Northwest now they're pushing 900 per class

That growth is just crazy. Along with Ankeny and SE Polk.

 

[fcclone]

SEP is over double the size when I graduated (1991).

I remember when Saydel, South Tama, and Grinnell competed in the CIC with Ankeny, SE Polk, Urbandale and Indianola.

 

[Althetuna]

I remember when Saydel, South Tama, and Grinnell competed in the CIC with Ankeny, SE Polk, Urbandale and Indianola.

Saydel was gone by the time I graduated but the rest were there along with Newton.

 

[fcclone]

Saydel was gone by the time I graduated but the rest were there along with Newton.

If I recall correctly, Newton replaced Saydel.

 

[Gunnerclone]

If I recall correctly, Newton replaced Saydel.

Is Saydel still a school?

 

[fcclone]

Is Saydel still a school?

Yes it is. They are in the BED’s report.

 

[SEIOWA CLONE]

Is Saydel still a school?

# 102 on the list with 340 kids in those three grades, so roughly 110 per class.

 

[AuH2O]

Is Saydel still a school?

Yes, it just approved 4 day school week for next year.

 

[AuH2O]

Looking at the census data from Polk City, it really didn't explode in growth until 2000 to 2010 increased 62% from 2010 to 2020.

1970 715,
1980 1658 when Saylorville was opened.
1990 1908
2000 2344
2010 3418
2020 5543.

So most of the growth has occurred since 2000, by then the school district was established and the high school was not going to be moved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polk_City,_Iowa

They only built the new HS like 10 years ago and the growth in Polk City was well underway, and it was absolutely where a vast majority of the students resided at that time. It was already about 10x the size of Alleman.

If that’s what their students and parents wanted, then so be it. But looking at an area map, deciding to build the new school where the old one is because spatially it’s in the center, while making a vast majority of the students travel 9 miles is one of the most Iowa things ever.