Welcome back to a new school year at Southeast Polk! There are very few occupations that have the opportunity for a fresh start each year. New staff, new students, new curriculum....it is wonderful to apply new learning and reflections to refine and improve our craft every year. Our students are the benefactors of your ongoing commitment to education. It is going to be a great year!
New Faces
We have some new faces on the curriculum team this year. Amy Kolln joins us as the Early Childhood Coordinator. She will be collaborating with preschool teachers to lead efforts for 18 sections of preschool at 6 of our elementary buildings. A good start in education has a tremendous impact on future success, so we are very happy to be supporting this growing program. Tammy Steenhoek is our new PK-12 Literacy Coach. Tammy has been a teacher at Southeast Polk for Runnells and Clay Elementary and brings great expertise to support literacy across our district. Dave Ford is our new At-Risk Coordinator. Dave comes to us from Grinnell and will be working with our counselors as well as coordinating an early indicator system that will support us all in identifying and responding to student needs. Charlie Taylor joins our district as the new Director of Special Education. Charlie most recently worked for the Iowa Department of Education and brings a wealth of experiences of leadership in special education from his home state of Missouri.
Laurie Wyatt has a new role on the curriculum team this year. She is the Learning Supports Coordinator and will provide leadership, collaboration, and coaching for TAG, ELL, Title I, Academic Tutoring supports, and our district RtI (Response to Intervention) plan. Jayne Beecham continues in her role as the PK-12 Math Coach. Her background and experiences in teaching math at all grade levels provide great leadership and support as we revise our curriculum to align with the expectations of the Iowa Common Core Standards. Jamie Fath continues her role as the PK-12 Technology Integration Coach. With all teachers receiving laptops this year as well as the large number of iPads that were purchased through PTO support funds, Jamie's knowledge and expertise in technology will be a tremendous asset for all teachers as we continue to integrate technology to strengthen teaching and learning.
New Vision and Mission
Our mission at Southeast Polk is "to engage all students in learning a challenging curriculum delivered through quality instruction." We are looking forward to continued collaboration around designing quality, engaging units of study, modeling and sharing best practices in instruction, and implementing authentic literacy tasks to access the key ideas of the content we teach.
New Tools
We are excited about implementing a new data solution tool to provide support in compiling and analyzing data. Data Director will provide technology support for our professional learning community discussions. Watch our blog for continued information around training and teacher leadership opportunities!
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