The Andrew Community School District (CSD) has been proudly serving families in eastern Iowa for over a century. A great deal has changed in the last 100 years, but two areas that have remained the same include;
Our commitment to providing a high-quality education
Our dedication to serving the families in our community
Our high levels of academic achievement and family-oriented programming serve as evidence of this commitment and dedication. The Iowa Department of Education identifies Andrew Elementary as a “Commendable” school on the Iowa School Performance Profile. We also take great pride serving as a leader and innovator in offering quality childcare and enrichment for children outside of the traditional school day. Our campus serves as the home of the “Little Leader Daycare Center,” which provides licensed childcare options for children ages 6 weeks - 4 years old. A majority of our families also take advantage of our expansive before and after-school program options, known as LEAP, where students engage in fun and engaging activities all school year at no cost to our families.
In our pursuit of being a distinguished institution of academic excellence and service to families, we are thrilled to announce the launch of another cutting-edge development…
…the Andrew Virtual Academy!!!
The Andrew Virtual Academy will begin serving students in grades kindergarten through 11th grade at the beginning 2025 - 2026 school year. By the following school year we will expand all the way through 12th grade, where graduates of this prestigious online program will earn a diploma from our Andrew Community School District.
Families from across the entire state of Iowa will have the option to open-enroll their children into the Andrew Virtual Academy’s online learning program. This online learning option is now available through our new partnership with Great Hearts Nova, who specailizes in high-quality online education.
Great Hearts is the leading provider of classical education in the country with in-person public charter, online charter, and private academy offerings across multiple states and cities. A Great Hearts education prepares students to be more than just proficient test takers, but rather, to become great-hearted leaders capable of success throughout their higher education and professional careers. With a curriculum built upon a classical liberal arts tradition and a revolutionary approach to school itself, Great Hearts cultivates the minds and hearts of students in the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
Founded in 2020, Great Hearts Nova is advancing the future of education by delivering the rigorous Great Hearts curriculum to scholars all over the United States through an online modality. Andrew CSD is now partnering with Great Hearts to facilitate educational choice for families and provide access to exceptional curriculum all the way through 12th grade. The Andrew Virtual Academy has been established to provide families with access and choice, giving them freedom and flexibility to educate their children according to their individual and family needs.
Andrew CSD will now be the exclusive partner for Great Hearts throughout the entire state of Iowa. Together, we are committed to developing and delivering a rigorous, classical education directly to Iowa families. We anticipate a great deal of interest from across the state, such as; homeschool families, young people assisting on farms, military families, children with special education needs, medically fragile children, and families looking to compliment competitive athletic endeavors with quality educational experiences. Families who travel regularly, and those looking for strong family and community integration, will thrive in this new opportunity available through the Andrew Virtual Academy.
Great Hearts has already grown to become the largest classical charter school network in Arizona and Texas and is the highest-performing network in the country. Its success shows what is possible for classical schools to achieve.
93% of our graduates immediately attend college.
Average SAT score is 1270 — 220 points above the national average.
Average ACT score is 24 — 4.2 points above the national average.
48% of our most recent graduates are pursuing STEM degrees.
Andrew CSD is proud to partner with an institution that has distinguished itself as a leader of online learning throughout the United States and beyond. In addition to expanding the positive impact we have on young people across Iowa, this new partnership opens another door for our families looking for high-quality educational opportunities for their children after they complete 6th grade learning with us in person in Andrew Elementary. In addition to the existing option to attend Maquoketa CSD or Bellevue CSD through whole grade sharing, our families will now have a third option to consider for their children in 7th - 11th grade (and 12th grade for ‘26 -’27 school year).
The Andrew Virtual Learning Academy will serve students throughout Iowa in grades K-12. However, we do not anticipate high interest coming from the current elementary school population we serve. We are confident in the quality of education we offer in our elementary. If we learned one thing from the recent pandemic, it was that most of our local families want their elementary-age children attending school in person. We do not anticipate any negative impact to the quality of opportunities available to existing students or families we serve in Andrew Elementary School. Instead, we strongly believe that launching the Andrew Virtual Learning Academy will compliment and benefit our in-person learners in countless ways.
Through our partnership agreement with Great Hearts Nova, Andrew CSD will retain a portion of the revenue generated by students who open enroll into the Andrew Virtual Academy. This funding will be used to cover any costs associated with our virtual academy and any remaining revenue will be invested in quality educational programming for our in-person learners. We also see countless opportunities to capitalize on win-win scenarios that will benefit our in-person and online learners. For example, our new expansive list of online classes will help us meet the unique learning needs of individuals and groups of students we currently serve. We also plan to explore ways to utilize our existing school space to help online learners and families connect and collaborate together.
We are currently in the process of developing information materials, website content, and more to raise awareness and connect with families interested in online learning for their children. Look for more information and details to come soon regarding the Andrew Virtual Academy, the newest online learning opportunity in the great state of Iowa.