To respond to change in order to better serve our students and meet the needs of our schools, Des Moines Public Schools is proposing new attendance areas for our secondary schools. The most significant and positive result of this change will be that in almost every case, the attendance areas of the high schools and middle schools will now align, creating a more consistent “feeder system” throughout the district.

What does this mean for education? Several good things:

– The new attendance areas will make it easier to accurately predict the number of incoming 6th grade students and 9th grade students at middle and high schools each year. This is a very important factor in determining the proper number of teachers and staff needed to provide a high quality education.

– School leadership in each feeder system can more effectively work with families, sharing meaningful information about interventions, special services, and more.

– Teachers and staff in each feeder system can better collaborate on a range of issues, from instructional matters to student behavior.

– School leadership in each feeder system can better coordinate to address and respond to issues of interest or concern to a particular neighborhood.

– Planning for special programs, from ELL to Gifted & Talented to Special Education, can also be completed more effectively.

For additional information — including maps, a schedule of public meetings, and frequent questions — please visit dmschools.org/attendanceareas.