Southeast Polk Community School District

Southeast Polk Community School District, (often shortened to SEP, SE Polk)[2] is a public school district located in suburban Des Moines and rural Polk County, Iowa. The high school and junior high are located in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. The district includes Runnells, Altoona, Mitchellville, and some surrounding rural areas. The district also stretches into small portions of Jasper and Marion Counties.

Southeast Polk Community School District
Address
8379 NE University Av.
Polk County

Pleasant Hill
, Iowa
United States
Coordinates41.60°N 93.44°W / 41.60; -93.44
District information
TypeLocal school district
GradesK-12
Established1962
SuperintendentDr. Dirk Halupnik
Schools11
Budget$95,247,000 (2015-16)[1]
NCES District ID1926820 [1]
Students and staff
Students7203 [1](2018-19)
Teachers436.57 FTE [1]
Staff429.96 FTE [1]
Student–teacher ratio16.50 [1]
Athletic conferenceCentral Iowa Metro League
District mascotRam
ColorsBlack and Gold    
Other information
WebsiteSEP District Website
SEP Sports Website

The district was formed by a consolidation of several districts (most notably Runnells, Altoona, and Mitchellville; several smaller districts also merged) in 1962. The district operates a high school, a junior high school, a sixth grade center, and eight elementary schools.

The district's current PreK-12 enrollment is 7,091 (2016[3]).

Famous alumni of Southeast Polk include former Buffalo Bills quarterback Kyle Orton, Chris Pirillo, Fellow Tyler Birlingmair, and musicians LNS Masu, LNS Nackey, Baby Bear, and Vaun Laurent (from the music group lyrics.never.stop).

The district is overseen by a seven-member Board of Education.

The superintendent of schools is Dr. Dirk Halupnik (2020).

Schools

Southeast Polk's grade schools consist of eight elementary schools: Altoona, Centennial, Delaware, Four Mile, Mitchellville, Runnells, Willowbrook, and Clay Elementary.

Southeast Polk's secondary schools consist of Spring Creek 6th Grade Center, Southeast Polk Junior High, and Southeast Polk High School.[4]

Southeast Polk is the 13th-largest school district in Iowa.

Mascot

The school mascot is the Ram. RAMS is an acronym for Runnells, Altoona, and Mitchellville, the district modified the "s" to represent the word "schools," but the original intent was for the mascot to represent the entire area covered by the school district. The school colors are black and gold. The district prides itself on its large amount of school spirit, including both "Ram Pride" and "The Southeast Polk Way."

Southeast Polk High School

Athletics

Southeast Polk is a member of the Central Iowa Metro League. The league is divided into two conferences, the Metro Conference and the Central Iowa Conference, with the latter being further subdivided into Northern, Eastern, and Western Divisions.

Fall Sports
  • Football
    • Southeast Polk's most successful football season was 2006, when they finished as state runners-up after a 21-6 defeat to Cedar Rapids Xavier.
    • Southeast Polk's most recent trips to the semifinals in the UNI-Dome were in 2006, 2012, and 2020.
Winter sports
  • The boys basketball team finished 2nd in the state in 2010. They also appeared in the State Tournament in 2014.
  • The girls basketball team was crowned state champions in 1977,[5] the school's first title, and again in 2013. The girls basketball team was also the state runner-up in 1987, 1988, and 2014.
  • The wrestling program won both the state dual and traditional meet titles in 2013, marking the school's first title by a boys program. In 2014, the wrestling team was announced as #10 in the nation in the pre-season rankings in WIN Magazine.[6] Southeast Polk wrestling also won the state dual meet title in 2015, and the traditional meet state title in 2015 and 2016. They followed it up by winning both the traditional and dual meet titles in 2017.
Spring/summer sports
  • Track, tennis, soccer, and girls' golf are spring sports, with baseball and softball occurring in the summer.

The baseball team won their first state championship in 2014, and again in 2015, while the softball team finished 2nd in the state in 2014. The girls’ golf team’s most recent trip to the state tournament was in 2018.

FFA

The Southeast Polk FFA chapter participates in many agriculture and leadership activities throughout the year. They run the Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fair every year and care for a herd of cattle throughout the year.

Theatre

Southeast Polk Senior High presents two full-length productions each year in November and March or April. A musical is performed every autumn.

Band

The Band Department at Southeast Polk consists of a Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, three Jazz Bands, a 140-piece Pep Band, and the award-winning Marching Rams. Ensembles from Southeast Polk have been honored with convention performances at state, regional, and national levels. Jazz I has placed in the Top 8 at the Iowa Jazz Championships for the past six years in a row, advancing as high as 3rd in 2012.

Chorus

The vocal music program's advanced choir is Chamber Singers, a mixed voice choir. Entrance is only granted through audition. Chorale is the advanced, auditioned women's choir, though open without audition to any junior or senior female. Bass Clef Choir (men) and Treble Clef Choir (women) are open to all interested students.

Southeast Polk has two show choirs: RAMification and Vocal Gold. RAMification is the varsity mixed show choir and selection is done by audition. Vocal Gold is a show choir prep group open only to women by audition.

See also

References
  1. "Southeast Polk Comm School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  2. http://www.southeastpolk.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/District%7CLogo%20Library
  3. http://reports.educateiowa.gov/Home/reportWrapper
  4. http://www.southeastpolk.org
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-10-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. (2014 U.S. High School Pre-Season Rankings)
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