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Good Areas/School Districts in DSM?
I know this was posted once before, and I saved it, but it is no longer in my "Threads I'm Watching."
We currently live in Omaha - our house is on the market, and once it sells, we'll be moving to the DSM area. We were set on Waukee, mainly because of all of the good opinions we've received on the area, schools, etc. We don't have children now, but schools are important to us for when we do. Plus, we will probably end up going with new construction, unless we can find a newer home that we wouldn't have to update at all. Obviously, Waukee has new development everywhere.
However, we came up Sunday and looked at a few houses with our realtor. One was in Polk City, and we fell in LOVE with the development. Like....I can't stop thinking about it. I work in West Des Moines, so I know it would be a drive, but compared to the two hour drive I have now, I think it would be fine. 
So, I think we're going to have the realtor open up the area of homes for our search, instead of just the Waukee school district. Can you ladies recommend some areas that would be good, so we have some more options? Or, would it be best to stick to Waukee?
Thanks so much!!
Re: Good Areas/School Districts in DSM?
I think it definitely depends on what you are looking for when it comes to a school district. Waukee, DSM, and West Des Moines are all very large districts. Polk City, while it's growing still has a "small" town feel. Ankeny is another town that you may want to consider, although I've found people either love it or hate it.
www.greatschools.org is a website that allows you to check test scores and read opinions, although take the opinions with a grain of salt and most test scores in those districts will be virtually identical.
We bought in Ankeny in November because of the great school (we have a 14 month old) and we could get more house for the money. We are really happy with our decision, we love our location, there are parks everywhere! Many people think that Ankeny is "so far" but it's really not, my mom lives in WDM and I am back and forth all the time, not a big deal.
We looked All.Over. Des Moines and the burbs and when we found this house we knew it was "the one".
Good Luck!
I have to say we bought in Waukee in part because of the excellent school district. We absolutely love it here and although the schools are large you still very much get the small town feel (in the town of Waukee itself) if you put forth the effort to say hi to people! DH and I both came from very small school districts and at first were intimidated by the large school, but class sizes are kept at a reasonable amount and we are constantly building new schools to keep up with demand and keep classes smaller than some of the other large districts. We plan to move within the next five years and honestly won't consider anywhere else because we like Waukee so much.
As far as falling in love with a specific house plan have you checked to see if the builder has developments in Waukee or would be willing to build out here? We had friends who built last spring who's builder had never worked in Waukee before, but was willing to do so as that was where they wanted their house built.
Neena Mae. 1/7/10
"A baby nursing at a mother's breast is an undeniable affirmation of our rootedness in nature." - David Suzuki
The terms best or good are all relative/subjective. As another posted, this all is determined by what YOU are looking for in a neighborhood, in a school and in a community. Everyone, speaking generically, thinks their area is the 'best'.
I would recommend you write down what you are looking for in a neighborhood, in a school and in an immediately community - as well as what you are looking for in a home (size, age, etc), the size of land you want and the price you are looking to pay.
We moved here from NJ back in November. We went into corporate rental home (fairly new construction) in Clive. It was our starting off place so that we could get to know the area and figure out what we wanted. Many would say, that we are living in the 'best' - great neighborhood, great homes, and in the waukee school district which is highly rated and funded.
From our perspective it couldn't be further from what we want. It is a little too .. plain/vanilla for us. We are looking for more culture and more diversity. Both lack, in our opinion, in the newer communities. But at the same time - we do want great schools, new home, and a large yard.
It took us 6 months of looking at ... probably 100 + homes ... driving through neighborhoods repeatedly ... reviewing all of the public record data on diversity %, socio-economic factors, school ratings, crime ratings, real estate data and so forth. My spreadsheets on this for the area are completely over the top.
We decided we want DS to be in the Greenwood Elem. school district due to good ratings as well as a decent diversity % (as good as the area gets without sacrificing quality of education or environment). The neighborhood (referred to as South of Grand) meets our socio-economic lifestyle - BUT the homes in that area did not. They are nice but old(er) and even when updated don't exactly meet our desires - we like new construction and that area offers very little to none (where as the west suburbs like W. DM, Clive, Waukee, etc offer mostly new construction or newer). Our patience has paid off and we found a rare almost one acre of land available - so now we get to build the home we want, in the area we want and in the school district we want.
Keep in mind that DSM proper has open enrollment but there is obviously no guarantee that if you move to one school district that you will be allowed into another. But that option is there.
So as you can see - our needs and desires for a neighborhood, home, school, etc may be vastly different from what your concerns/desires/needs are. I can't remember now if you need a school district immediately or if you have the luxury of simply renting for awhile and figuring out what you want before making a big commitment.
Either way - moving to a new area is stressful and I wish you a lot of luck, patience and good fortune.
Jacks makes a very good point in her entire post. You are always so well spoken! With the open enrollment in DSM proper also realize that you may be able to go into another district, but if you are in DSM proper and trying to get into another school they may not necessarily let you OUT. I have a friend who is in a great neighborhood, but the elementary they are supposed to go to is very lacking. They need students, though, so they won't let her open enroll out to another school/district.
Adding on to Jack's post, that many of the surrounding DSM areas are very suburban. Some love the this lifestyle and want their children to go to the "best" school district, but keep in mind that these districts are the "best" because of the parent involvement and quite frankly the income-level of their clientele.
I've always struggled to recommend school districts because quite frankly the stats have little to do with the true quality of school.
I will say, that I student taught at Webster Elementary in Urbandale and really enjoyed the staff and school community. With that being said, if I had a child that was not a traditional learner the suburban schools would probably not be the best fit for them to thrive.
WDSM is a larger district
Waukee, Ankeny, Johnston, Urbandale, are all good schools. Johnston and Ankeny have new development areas too.
Ha, yes! I check that board out once in a while - mainly just to see everyone's cute babies. Your little girl is adorrrrrrrable!
Thanks for the feedback, ladies. Hopefully our house sells quickly, so we can get up to the DSM area (whever that may be) sooner rather than later!