Southeast Polk is a community that succeeds through teamwork, whether on the athletic fields, on stage, in the classroom and in the community.
As well as academic standards, we also provide programming to support social and emotional learning. These programs recognize the importance of having empathy for others, maintaining cooperative relationships, and making responsible decisions. Through Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Olweus (an anti-bullying program), and Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), students have the opportunity to develop socially and emotionally as well as academically.
Teamwork also empowers Southeast Polk athletes and performing artists and teachers to excel in the field, the court, on stage or in the classroom. Among our recent successes:
Best Buddies is a program through which special needs students at Southeast Polk High School team up with other students to learn from one another. Rated as the top program of its kind in 2017, buddies participate in adaptive physical education programs. And they compete in an annual softball tournament during homecoming week.
As an early recipient of the state’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation grant, Southeast Polk has implemented the structures for all teachers to learn from each other. Instructional coaches, model teachers, and curriculum coordinators are leading the effort to improve student learning. Through participation in Professional Learning Community institutes, collaboration is strengthened to design and implement the practices that will best support students. Our Teacher Leadership Program deploys some of Southeast Polk’s best and brightest faculty to mentor other teachers in our District and others around the Midwest.
The Southeast Polk community teams up with two non-profit foundations that generate financial support for innovative educational programs in the District and to provide financial support for graduates of Southeast Polk to pursue higher education. The Southeast Polk Education Foundation supplements, augments, and complements existing programs and activities within the Southeast Polk Community School District. Foundations are made up of concerned citizens who understand that as education has evolved, a need has arisen to develop a means to raise funds for innovative and effective programs to improve student achievement and nurture lifelong learning. Southeast Polk Dollars for Scholars has been awarding scholarships since 2001 to all eligible graduates who wish to further their education — whether it is for trade school, junior college, business education school or university. Southeast Polk Dollars for Scholars® is part of a nationwide network of community-based scholarship foundations, 87 of which are in Iowa. It is a program of Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest non-profit private-sector scholarship and educational assistance organization.
