We're committed to...

  • Fostering academic excellence, leading students to success for college, career, and civic life.
  • Setting and meeting high standards of academic achievement.
  • Creating curriculum and learning opportunities centered on the latest trends and theories in education.

Southeast Polk District Vision and Mission 

LEARN. LEAD. LIVE.
Success for college, career and civic life.
Engage all students in learning a challenging curriculum delivered through quality instruction.

Students in the Southeast Polk Community School District deserve an education that helps them succeed in today’s technology-rich, global economy.  At Southeast Polk, we are committed to preparing all students for success in college, career, and civic life. With clarity and purpose around what we teach and professional learning to support collaborative discussions on how we teach, opportunities are created for students to apply their learning in authentic and relevant ways.

The district meets the standard of the Iowa Core (formerly known as the Iowa Core Curriculum and the Model Core Curriculum) that provides academic expectations for all Iowa’s K-12 students.  It does so by helping teachers take learning to a deeper level by focusing on a well-researched set of standards in literacy and mathematics and essential concepts and skills in science, social studies, and 21st century learning (civic literacy, financial literacy, technology literacy, health literacy, and employability skills). The Iowa Core is not course-based, but rather is a student-based approach that supports high expectations for all students.

Recognizing that every student learns at a different pace in different subjects, we place a high priority in differentiating instruction based upon assessments of student performance every six weeks. This allows our teachers to accelerate learning or fill in learning gaps throughout the academic year. We also are implementing a new Standards-based Grading system that assigns a letter grade for each subject, but also breaks down the grade for specific subject areas. For example, a report card may show a student with an overall grade of B in math that also shows the student may do well with two or three-digit multiplication, but less well in fractions and measurement.  

Building from the Iowa Core, we strive to build the competencies for future success including:

    • Critical Thinking
    • Complex Communication
    • Creativity
    • Collaboration
    • Flexibility and Adaptability
    • Productivity and Accountability

These universal constructs apply all aspects of an individual’s life across all curriculum areas.

Southeast Polk Curriculum Blog

The curriculum team is housed at the TLRC (Teaching and Learning Resource Center).

The TLRC office is located at
6540 NE 12th Ave,
Pleasant Hill, IA 50327


Contact the Department

Staff Contacts

Staff Contacts
Staff Title Phone
Brittany Kunz Administrative Assistant (515) 967-4294
Jayne Beecham PK-12 Math Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Kerrie Bernstein PK-12 Literacy Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Angela Shannon PK-12 Literacy Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Kendra Carlson PK-12 Instructional Technology (515) 967-4294
Stephanie Laird PK-12 Learning Supports (515) 967-4294
James Pifer PK-12 Science Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Robert Timmins PK-12 Assessment Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Jacqueline White Early Childhood Coordinator (515) 967-4294
Lea Morris Director of Special Education (515) 967-4294
Deborah Warren Administrative Assistant (515) 967-4294