Abbie Grove Elementary School

Located in the fast-growing Grove neighborhood, Abbie Grove Elementary School is the twelfth elementary school built in the Ankeny Community School District and was designed to easily blend into the aesthetic of the new development.

It serves kindergarten to fifth grade, with capacity to serve up to 800 students. The school’s design reflects the neighborhood’s modern and sustainable vision, as well as the district’s commitment to providing high-quality education for all students. The school features a colorful and inviting exterior, with large windows, metal panels, and brick accents. The interior spaces are designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and exploration among students and staff.

Like the recently completed Heritage Elementary School, Abbie Grove is organized in sections to make the building feel smaller and more manageable to its young learners. The school’s student-commons is filled with natural daylight and opens onto a full-size gymnasium that has capacity to provide a raised performance area. A large media center provides views that connect to the outdoors and is located at the heart of the building with direct access to the school’s technology and maker-space labs.

One of the most innovative features of this building is the geo well field, which is a part of the heating and cooling system. This technology uses geothermal characteristics, which means it harnesses the earth’s natural temperature to exchange heat with water or air in pipes and wells. Therefore, the geo well field can heat and cool the building with one system, maintaining a constant temperature throughout the year.