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It’s a common misconception: when people think of "curriculum," they often think of a textbook. But, what exactly constitutes a complete "curriculum," and what is involved in reviewing curriculum?  A curriculum review is more than just buying the next set of support materials.  In high-performing school districts, curriculum review is a continuous improvement process.  Read how reviews are changing and curriculum is improving in ACSD.

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On January 9, the School Board approved several adjustments to the 2012-2013 school calendar.  The start of school was moved from August 13 to August 15, 2012.  The scheduled last day of school moved from May 22 to May 23.  Spring break was set for March 15-22, 2013.  Dates for back-to-school nights and P/T conferences are not yet finalized and are will be updated on the calendar at a later date. Download the revised 2012-2013 At-A-Glance Calendar here.

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Ankeny crowned two state champions and placed 3rd overall at the Iowa High School Speech Association State Debate Tournament January 6th and 7th at the DMACC campus in Ankeny. Despite only competing in three of the four events, Ankeny debaters took top honors in two categories, with Grant Laverty (junior) as the State Champion in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Tanner Westberg (senior)as the State Champion in Student Congress Debate.  Read the full story and more debate results here.

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Five Ankeny students were among the 508 students from Iowa and throughout the nation who were recently invited to be honored at the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center’s Recognition Ceremony in the Main Lounge of the University of Iowa Memorial Union. The recognition ceremony is held annually as an opportunity to acknowledge those students in grades 4–12 who either earned scores in the top 1% of the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS); were selected to one of the Belin-Blank scholarship programs; or received special recognition in a Belin-Blank Center program.  Read the full story here.

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The winter edition of Ankeny Advance is now available.  Ankeny Advance is published in .pdf format and requires the free Adobe Reader to view.  The fall edition is also mailed each year, with the winter and spring editions distributed electronically.  

This edition includes information about 52 students earning AP Scholar Awards, naming of the new Prairie Trail Elementary principal, the use of performance data in secondary schools, enrollment projections, kindergarten registration information, teacher collaboration, curriculum reviews,  and much more.  Read the new edition of Ankeny Advance here.

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