The Ankeny Community School District broke ground on the main project funded by a $130 million bond measure voters approved last fall.
The $80 million career and technical education building officially named the “Ankeny Innovation Hub (The Hub): Where learning connects to what’s next” is planned to offer students hands-on career exploration when it opens in fall 2028 at the Northview Middle School campus on North Ankeny Boulevard.
School board president Stephanie Gott said at the Tuesday, April 7 groundbreaking The Hub is the “beginning of a new chapter in how we prepare our students for what comes next.”
Ankeny voters in November approved the bond measure to fund the career and technical education hub for secondary students, as well as high school athletic centers and other additions to the district.
The Hub’s planned space for 500 to 750 students throughout the school day will free up rooms at both of Ankeny’s high schools. That and other proposed additions and upgrades will create space for future changes, including to align grades six through eight into middle school and grades nine through 12 into high school.
The new grade level configuration is expected to take effect in fall 2029, when high school additions will open after construction begins in spring 2027.
Superintendent Erick Pruitt said Tuesday while the programs at The Hub will primarily be for high school students — open also to students from other districts — younger Ankeny students also will have opportunities to interact and experience what’s offered.
Pruitt said the foundations should be built this summer and construction on walls may start this fall.
Phillip Sitter covers the suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at PSitter@usatodayco.com. Find out more about him online in the Register’s staff directory. This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny school district breaks ground on career and tech education Hub
Reporting by Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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