Waukee business program to get new school
A Waukee Community School District program that is embedding high school students with professional firms throughout Greater Des Moines in fields such as architecture, software design, marketing and health care will get a new building next year.
Waukee School Superintendent Dave Wilkerson said the program has created great new opportunities for high school students in Waukee to make the connection between school and the world of work.
The Aspiring Professional Experience (APEX) program, now in its second year, provides nearly 250 students with real-world experiences at professional firms such as Shive-Hattery Inc. and LightEdge Solutions Inc. Seven classes, ranging from information management design to exploration of health sciences and medicine, enable students to work on real-world projects and earn community college credit during half-day sessions at the workplaces.
Beginning next fall, APEX will be anchored by the new 66,000-square-foot Waukee Innovation and Learning Center that’s under construction at the intersection of Southeast LA Grant Parkway and Ashworth Road in Waukee. When it opens, the space will be able to handle about 500 students at a time, relieving some of the crowding issues at Waukee High School.
The nearly $20 million facility “doesn’t look like a school, and it won’t feel like a school,” Wilkerson said. “We view it as a facility that should serve the educational needs of the community, from 6 in the morning until 10 at night, six days a week, instead of the 8-to-3 school day.”
In addition to providing a studio format where students can meet, the innovation and learning center will also provide flex space that can be used by business partners as well as for higher education classes offered by Des Moines Area Community College and other institutions, Wilkerson said.
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