We Are Ankeny
Let's talk about... Ankeny Community School District! Superintendent, Dr. Erick Pruitt is your host as he talks about all things Ankeny Schools with staff, students and community members.
Episodes
Ankeny’s middle school secretaries are more than front office staff—they’re navigators. Host Sarah Murphy talks with Jill Vandeloo (Northview MS) and Renee Kester (Parkview MS) about what makes these years unique, how the student–front office relationship shifts , and the introduction of ParentSquare to the District.
We're kicking off 25-26 with the TRUE multitasking heroes of the elementary buildings - our secretaries! Join host Sarah Murphy as she chats with Emily Marusiak (Abbie Grove), Jessica Ponto (Terrace Learning Center), Missy Butcher (Prairie Trail), and Becky Like (Ashland Ridge).
From student records to front office smiles, hear what they do to make the first week run smoothly, and how families, visitors & volunteers ca...
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 websit...
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...
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 th...
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
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 inform...
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.
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 valua...
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 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.
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.
R...
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 ...
In this episode, Dr. Amy Dittmar, ACSD Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services, sits down with Amy 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 sever...
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 inse...
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 an...
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