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Our District

School Board

Ankeny Board of Education

School Board Meetings are held at the Ankeny Community Schools District Office at Neveln | 406 SW School Street | Ankeny, IA 50023

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Here to serve you: Members of the Ankeny Board of Education are elected at large for four-year voluntary terms; they receive no pay for their services. The Board of Education follows a governance model. In this process, the Board gives direction to the school district as to their priorities and goals, and the administration then develops the best procedures and practices to fulfill those goals.

A brief profile and contact information for each board member is presented below. The members of your current Ankeny School Board are:


Claeys
Katie Claeys, President
Term of Office: 2023-2027

Katie and her husband Michael have lived in the metro since 2002 and moved to Ankeny in 2012 because they wanted their children to attend Ankeny Schools. They have three boys: Brady, Charly and Jack. Katie graduated from Loras College (2000) with a BA in Elementary Education. She also has two Masters degrees: one in Curriculum and Instruction of Middle Level Education from UNI (2007) and a second in Educational Leadership from Drake University (2015). Katie currently serves as the Director of Teaching and Learning for Ballard Schools. She cares deeply about each child having access to a quality educational experience and governing a system committed to equity for all. She is excited to serve the community as a School Board member.

katie.claeys@ankenyschools.org


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Joy Burk, Vice President
Term of Office: 2021-2025

Joy and her husband, Nate, have four children; three are at Prairie Trail Elementary and one at Terrace Learning Center. Joy grew up in Ankeny and graduated from Ankeny High School in 1999. She received her BA in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Iowa and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Northern Arizona University. She taught for 10 years in Arizona and in Ankeny at Ashland Ridge Elementary before leaving the classroom in 2014 to focus on her family. Joy and her husband have hosted two foreign exchange students, which gave them a glimpse into life with teenagers. Joy has also served on the board of a non-profit called Miracle Travel Works. Joy is confident in her ability to help govern the Ankeny Community School District. She is excited to serve in this capacity and looks forward to being a positive voice for the constituents in the community.

joy.burk@ankenyschools.org


Sarah
Sarah Barthole, Board Member
Term of Office: 2021-2025

Sarah and her husband Brady have two boys and have lived in the metro since 2007. They moved to Ankeny in 2015 for Ankeny schools and the small town feel that it offers. Sarah has held various roles in her career, including marketing/communications, training, event planning, employee experience and IT project management. She is currently a Strategic Projects Lead at Principal. Sarah has been actively involved in Ankeny Schools serving on the School Improvement Advisory Council (SIAC) for four years and as a board member of her sons’ elementary PTO and a homeroom mom. Sarah is an energetic and engaged working mom that wants to bring a new voice to the district and have a positive impact on our students’ educational experience in Ankeny. She believes the connections between our students, families, district and community is so important to helping us all thrive and be successful together.

sarah.barthole@ankenyschools.org


Tagliareni website
Amy Tagliareni, Board Member
Term of Office: 2023-2025

Amy Tagliareni and her husband, John, have called Ankeny home for 14 years. They have one daughter, Erica, who attends Ankeny High School. She is committed to ensuring Ankeny School District meets the needs of EVERY student, teacher, and staff member. Tagliareni, who currently serves as the Director of Development and Communications for a Des Moines-based non-profit, holds a BS in public relations from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a MS in Sport Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She is a member of the Ankeny Kiwanis and serves on the Executive Race Committee for the Des Moines Marathon. Previously served as vice president of the Terrace PTO. She is excited to work with the district to ensure Ankeny is hiring great teachers and staff and taking care of an ever-growing and diversifying student population.

amy.tagliareni@ankenyschools.org


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Stephanie Gott, Board Member
Term of Office: 2023-2027

Stephanie and her husband, Ryan, have three children attending Ankeny Community School District. They have lived in Ankeny since 2011 after living in Green Bay, WI and Phoenix, AZ for five years each. Stephanie graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor’s in Business Management with an emphasis in Human Resources. Stephanie spent more than 20 years in the human resources profession. Today, Stephanie is the VP, Business Development for Brown & Brown. Prior to her service to the Board of Education, Stephanie has served on various local committees and boards including the ORBIS Advisory Council, SIAC, Strategic Planning, Ankeny Human Rights Commission and several local and national non-profit boards.

stephanie.gott@ankenyschools.org


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Shelly Northway, Board Member
Term of Office: 2023-2027

Shelly and her husband Charles are the parents of 4 adult children and 2 grandchildren. Shelly has spent most of her life in Ankeny, graduating from Ankeny Schools and putting all of her children through Ankeny Schools. Shelly currently works for the family heating and cooling business, but prior to that worked as a personal trainer. She has participated in numerous lifting competitions and still competes to this day. Prior to serving on the Ankeny School Board, Shelly served on the PTO and multiple school committees. She also helped develop the Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) program that connects volunteers in Ankeny Schools.
Shelly is excited for the opportunity to serve the school district that gave her and her family so much.

shelly.northway@ankenyschools.org


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Amber Romans, Board Member
Term of Office: 2023-2027

Amber and her husband Greg have called Ankeny home for the last 10 years. They have two sons, a class of 2020 graduate from ACHS and a current senior at ACHS, class of 2024. Amber has a Bachelors in Business Administration from Lindenwood University and an MBA from Drake University, go Bulldogs. Amber and her husband are the band parent coordinators for the ACHS marching band. Amber has been involved in different aspects of the community, leading middle school girls at church for several years. She also leads women’s events and studies at her church and is starting a Christian Women’s Business organization in the Des Moines area. Amber and her husband both have a Photography business that allows them to meet all kinds of seniors in the area and spend time talking to their parents, while also allowing them to spend time together over their love of photography. Amber is looking forward to making a difference for the students, parents, and teachers while she is serving the community as a school board member.

amber.romans@ankenyschools.org