Central Academy (Des Moines, Iowa)

Central Academy
Central Academy
Motto	"The Pursuit of Excellence"
Established	1985
Type	Magnet (Top 5% in State);; International Baccalaureate
Academic staff	26
Students	Approx. 1,050
Location	Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Campus	Urban; (Downtown Des Moines); 76,368 Square Feet
Affiliations	Aviva; Central Campus Foundation; Des Moines Public Schools; Global Youth Institute; International Baccalaureate; The University of Iowa
Website	Central Academy

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Coordinates: 41°35′02″N 93°38′31″W / 41.584°N 93.642°W / 41.584; -93.642 Central Academy is a public magnet school located at 1912 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa for students between grades 6 and 12. Commissioned by the Des Moines Public Schools in 1985, the Academy has played host to some of the brightest minds in the state. The school is nationally recognized for the high academic standard of its coursework and the performance of its students. The Academy is ranked in the top one percent of Advanced Placement programs in the state. Since 2008, the Academy has had the International Baccalaureate World School program fully implemented for students desiring an even greater college-recognized level challenge.

[edit] Curriculum of the Academy

The curriculum at the Academy is accelerated so that most students may begin Advanced Placement work in tenth grade. The Academy offers seventeen Advanced Placement courses in the fields of science, English, social studies, and mathematics. The curriculum in these courses is very rigorous and moves very quickly. The advantages of taking such courses is well seen. Certain students have the opportunity (if advanced enough) to take high school credit for some of the classes in 7th grade. Many students, if not all, enrolled in the Central Academy program are students in their district's Gifted and Talented program and they come from a fairly large portion of central Iowa and are challenged to do their best work in the Academy. Some of the classes offered at the Academy are 'weighted classes' where it is possible to get higher than a 4.0 GPA. For instance, if one gets an A in a weighted class, they get 5 points for their GPA instead of the normal 4. The Academy also offers a variety of 'specials' courses ranging from home and drywall to fashion, where a fashion show is held annually to display the works of the students. At the end of the school year, a recognition and award ceremony is held for Academy Seniors. There are seven awards total: the Scholastic Achievement Award, the Leadership Award, Social Science Award, Mathematics Award, English Award, Science Award, and the International Baccalaureate Award of Excellence for the best students in each category. The first two awards are chosen by their peers and students honored with the later five awards earn all A's in that given field of study, and are subsequently picked by the individual departments. Seniors that have made it through the program receive an honorary personalized plaque. Additionally, students who become AP National Scholars or finish the International Baccalaureate program are put into the Academy's hall of fame commemoration in the primary hallway.

[edit] Prerequisites of Further Entry

Students wishing to pursue the Advanced Placement science and English courses at the Academy must complete a course that is one year of biology in one semester and one year of chemistry and physics in the next semester and world and American literature courses, respectively. They must earn A's and B's in each subject to continue on in the program.

[edit] Student Body

[edit] Composition of Students and Staff

The Academy has a student body of over one thousand students which derives from thirty nine middle and high schools in central Iowa. Teachers at the Academy must themselves demonstrate an exceptional ability to teach prior to being considered and typically hold a Master's Degree and/or Doctor of Philosophy for their given subject matter. The teachers have won awards, oversee cultural activities for the city, and represent teachers in Iowa as consistent leaders in their fields. The supervisor and head of the school was Dennis Johnson, a former athletic director at Theodore Roosevelt High School (Des Moines) and now has been taken up by Crista Carlile, a former teacher in the Ankeny School District.

[edit] Academy Profile

Attendees of the Academy are considered part of the Des Moines Public Schools' Gifted and Talented initiative, and are required to meet several benchmarks before even being admitted into the Academy. Students are required to demonstrate: general intellectual ability, creative thinking, leadership ability, visual and performing arts ability, and a specific ability aptitude. The school district also bases admission into the Academy on teacher recommendations and standardized test scores, requiring students to score above the 95th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The Academy has benefited greatly over the years by many philanthropic gifts from the Iowa entrepreneurial native John Pappajohn, the Aviva Trust Foundation, and the Central Campus Foundation. Before the Academy took residence in the Wallace-Homestead Building in 2008, the Academy was held at 1800 Grand Avenue at a decommissioned Ford car factory from 1985-2005 which had also previously been home to Des Moines Technical High School after World War II. It was then partially moved subsequently to The University of Iowa John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center from 2005-2008. With the school board coming to a conclusion that the academy needed its own building, the Wallace-Homestead building was purchased and quickly renovated to reflect the modern age.

[edit] Academy's Academic Achievement to Date

As of 2011, the Academy has produced 33 AP State Scholars, 269 AP National Scholars, 608 AP Scholars with Honor, and over 1,800 AP Scholars. The average Academy student will take 5.85 AP Exams in his or her high school career. In addition, Academy teams and students have compiled dozens of statewide and national titles for the school over the decades. Annually winning English, Math, and Science awards. Students who have graduated from Central have gone on to matriculate into some of the world's most elite universities. MIT, Cal Tech, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford, New York University, and every school in the Ivy League just to name a few. In the process, for any given year there are over four million dollars worth of scholarship offerings for graduating seniors. Central Academy is committed to "The Pursuit of Excellence" which has become synonymous with the school, staff, and student body.