New boundaries could send Des Moines students to farther schools
Des Moines Public Schools is moving toward a November vote on new attendance boundaries that will reshape how students advance through the district. The boundaries are part of the district's $265 million Reimagining Education plan. Once set, the new plan will replace DMPS' current feeder patterns with Northeast, Northwest and South regions , divided by the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. They will establish new student pathways from elementary and middle schools to East, Lincoln and Roosevelt high schools, convert some buildings to signature schools and allow more elementary schools to add sixth grade. The proposal redraws current attendance boundaries , which determine which schools students attend based on their home addresses. The new boundaries would organize schools into three regions, with students ultimately assigned to East High School in the Northeast, Lincoln High School in the South or Roosevelt High School in the Northwest. North and Hoover would no longer operate as traditional neighborhood high schools. Instead, they would become two of the district's nine opt-in signature schools, which will offer specialized programs in STEM, the arts, Montessori or dual language that families could apply to attend. North will focus on STEM programs, while Hoover wil will offer hands-on
