Jeremy Lapka

EDL 285
Data Project
Free and Reduced Lunches in the Ankeny Community School District

School Year Student Population Free and Reduce Percent Free Lunch Reduced
lunch total Eligible Lunch
2015-2016 10,605 1292 12.2% 1019 273
2016-2017 10,984 (379 increase) 1690 (398 increase) 15.39% 1283 407
2017-2018 11,302 (318 increase) 1697 (7 increase) 15.02% 1355 342
2018-2019 11,719 (417 increase) 1951 (254 increase) 16.7% 1573 378
*Data taken from the Iowa Department of Education website https://educateiowa.gov/education-
statistics#Student_Demographic_Information

Reactions:

I first moved to Iowa to attend school at Drake in 2005, my first year teaching in Ankeny was in
the 2011-2012 school year. Many times I have heard how well off Ankeny is, how rich the families in
Ankeny are, or those school have everything. I do believe we have many well of families that do live a
very privileged lifestyle. However, our community is diversely growing along with socioeconomic status.
I think the picture people have painted of old Ankeny, and who Ankeny is growing into is completely
different.

I look into the data over the last 4 years of families and students who are eligible for free and
reduced lunches. As a school district we know we are rapidly growing and increasing in student
population. I was semi-shocked at the growth of the number of families eligible for lunches. My
preconceived thought was the number would be increasing with how fast our district is growing. The
shocking part was an increase of 659 families within the last 4 school years who were eligible, which
now stands at 16.7% of our student population we serve. This to me indicts how the families in Ankeny
are changing and are we as a district/schools making sure we are meeting the needs of all students.
Many times I have sat in meetings at the beginning of the year and recall hearing all the supplies and
items we expect students to come to school with. If families are struggling with meals can there be a
correlation into being able to buy all supplies on the list for school. As a staff/district we need to be
more aware of this changing need in our families, which can affect students we see each day.

Relevance:

As I thought about this data see the increase and what it means for our families in Ankeny I see
this being relevant to our learning around social justice. My initial thought was around sports (which is a
big deal in our community) and students being able to participate in these activities in Ankeny. As a
district we do not offer school sports until entering 8th grade. This means students who want to
participate in a sport would need to pay for the many clubs and travel teams in and around Ankeny. I
wonder if all student’s families are able to afford these or any of club teams if their child would like to
play. Additionally, when a student who is finally eligible to play in the 8th grade, are they going to have
the same abilities skills wise or opportunity to be on the “A” squad compared to the “D” squad.

Action Plan:
 Digging into this data I see a purpose for our staff to be trained and educated on the changing
socioeconomics of our district. This leads to a conversation on what do we expect our families to buy for
school supplies compared with what we provide to all students. Should the school district buy certain
supplies for students to create an equitable playing field for students not based on what their parents
are able to purchase. Finally, are we able as a district to provide activities/sports starting at a younger
age for example at the 6/7 buildings. By offering these activities could we would be taking off the
financial burden of some of the families in the district.