The Ankeny Community School District (ACSD)  has officially launched Ankeny Virtual Academy (AVA), a tuition-free program that allows students to earn a high school diploma through online instruction. The new academy is in partnership with Graduation Alliance. This program collaborates with educators, community leaders, and government agencies nationwide to create flexible pathways to high school graduation for youth and adults. 

Over the years, Ankeny saw an increase in students withdrawing and open-enrolling in online schools.

“The district didn’t have its own online options. They had a lot of students withdrawing to go to other outside charter schools, virtual charter academies, things like that,” Senior Program Manager of Graduation Alliance Abby Perkins said.

Other staff involved in the Ankeny district agreed. Some Iowa school districts, such as Iowa Virtual Academy in Clayton Ridge, have already opened an online pathway for their students. 

“We looked at our data for student enrollment, and we saw a trend of students who reside in Ankeny, open-enrolling out of our district to online schools,” Ankeny’s Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services Amy Dittmar said. “So, if you’ve noticed in our mission statement, we believe in providing an educational experience for every student. If students are leaving our district to seek education to meet their needs, we thought, let’s see if we can provide that here.”

The program has reportedly been well-received by many throughout the district, filling a gap that some staff believed was prevalent in the ACSD. 

“While the comprehensive class does work for 95 percent of the students, it does not work for everyone, so what options do we have available that can support [students] so that they don’t feel they have to leave our community to get the support they need?” AHS Assistant Principal Seith Monahan said.

For students who do not work as well in a comprehensive classroom, graduating from the online academy does not hinder their further education and opportunities. They receive the same diploma as someone who attended school in person.

“It is a program through Ankeny, so students who are in the program do get their high school diploma from Ankeny. It’s an actual diploma from the district when they finish and graduate,” Perkins said.

Students who have dropped out of high school are also eligible for the online program, as long as they are below the age of 21. 

According to the Iowa Department of Education, the annual dropout rate was 2.59 percent for the 2023-2024 school year. With the launch of the online program, Ankeny educators hope to reach out to students who have dropped out, offering them an alternative way to earn their diplomas. 

“There was a student whom I never saw,” Monahan said. “He dropped out in October, my first year [working at Ankeny]. I never met him. We engaged him over the summer to come back. He came back. Now he’s a graduate.” 

As Ankeny Virtual Academy continues to be integrated into Ankeny’s education system, it will be a flexible, alternative option for students. 

AVA is accessible to all students, including those with IEPs (Individualized Education Plan) who receive specialized instruction, support, and services in public school to meet their unique needs. 

“We adjust [individual student plans] as needed, and then IEP meetings are done with the school district,” Perkins said. “We definitely look at that on a student-by-student basis, depending on what they need.”

The conclusion to establish a full online academy in Ankeny was not quick, but it is proving to be an early success.

“The decision wasn’t hard to make because we are always student-centered,” Dittmar said.  “When our students have a need, we do whatever we can to meet that need and remove barriers and make sure that we have opportunities for kids.”