Focus on Excellence – Time to Find a Compromise
David J. Wilkerson, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools
 The month of February is an active one in the life of the Waukee Community School District. At the secondary school level many activities have been in full swing like our show choir competitions, jazz band events and speech competitions. Winter sport seasons are wrapping up or are in tournament mode, and hard as it is to believe, practice for spring sports have already begun.
It’s also during the month of February that parents are formally invited into all the buildings for parent-teacher conferences. It’s an opportunity for parents to gain a more in-depth understanding of their child’s performance on a day-to-day basis, as well as get to know their child’s teacher in a more personalized environment.
Academically, our students were administered the Iowa Assessments. These assessments are important in that they have become the de facto “state achievement test” against which schools are measured for No Child Left Behind purposes, one of the main barometers of a school’s performance and one of the main criteria used to determine whether the academic achievement of a particular sub-group of students, or even entire school buildings or districts, is at an acceptable level. Read More...
A Cappella Receives National Honor
Waukee High School’s (WHS) A Cappella Choir was selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 28. Led by A Cappella director Amy Hall, the group will perform in the Mormon Tabernacle for an audience comprised of international attendees.
Only three high school choirs were selected out of the 150 that auditioned across the country. The audition consisted of judges listening to three years’ worth of recordings. A choir was invited to perform if its recordings scored in the top three percent. Read More...
Waukee Science Update
Last fall, the Iowa Department of Education, along with a team of facilitators, began a process for examining science standards for Iowa. The state would like to collect feedback on a preliminary proposal to update Iowa’s Science Standards. The survey consists of 7 questions around the use of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The survey, which is open through February 27, can be found by clicking here.
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Congratulations to our 2015 State Wrestling Qualifiers
Waukee wrestlers Jacob Allison and Nathan Jacobsen qualified for the State Wrestling Tournament. Jacobsen advanced to the quarter final round in the 220 lb. division, while Allison advanced to the finals for the second straight season at 106 pounds. The two wrestlers scored 24 team points and Waukee placed 24th in the team standings. Read More...
Boys Swim Team Wins First District Title in School History
On February 7 Waukee High School’s (WHS) Boys’ Swim Team won their very first District meet title in school history. All fourteen of the WHS athletes who participated in the meet scored in every event. The Waukee Boys Swim Team placed seventh at the State Meet in Marshalltown on February 14. Read More...
Walnut Hills 5th Graders to Move to Vince Meyer Learning Center for 2015-16 School Year
The Waukee Board of Education assigned Walnut Hills fifth graders to the Vince Meyer Learning Center for the 2015-16 school year at the February 9 board meeting. Currently, fifth graders from Waukee Elementary School attend the building that was renovated and reopened in 2013. Waukee Elementary fifth graders will return to their attendance center for the 2015-16 school year. Read More...
Maple Grove Principal Goes to Washington
Kimberly Tierney, principal of Maple Grove Elementary School, was chosen to meet with U.S. secretary of education Arne Duncan and other senior US Department of Education officials in Washington, D.C. last month as part of the new Principals at ED initiative. Read More...
Congratulations Brookview – First Lighthouse School in Iowa!
Brookview Elementary was identified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School. There are currently more than 2,000 schools world-wide implementing The Leader in Me. The Leader in Me is a process designed to integrate the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into the culture of the building and within the school curriculum. Students are taught leadership skills and given the opportunity to practice this learning through a variety of settings as they enhance their 21st century leadership, learning, and life skills. Read More...
SMS MATHCOUNTS Earns First place at Central Iowa Competition
Congratulations to the South Middle School (SMS) MATHCOUNTS team: Hima Joseph, Nathan Koch, Ben Fahrenkrug, Danny Drake and alternate Kaitlyn Severson who took first place in the Central Iowa Competition on February 10 and will go on to compete at the state level. Special congrats to Hima Joseph who took first place in the individual competition and Charlie Barry and Arjun Thanttankandy who also qualified for the state competition as individuals. This is the first time that a middle school in Waukee Community School District has won a MATHCOUNTS regional event! Read More...
22 Student-athletes Participated in National Signing Day
Congratulations to the 22 student-athletes from Waukee High School who participated in National Signing Day, February 4 and will continue their education and athletic careers after high school! This group of multi-sport athletes combined to earn 99 varsity letters during their high school careers. Several were also active in the Fine Arts and excelled in the classroom. The group has a combined cumulative GPA of 3.55. Read More...
Certified Enrollment Numbers Show District Growth of 484 Students
On January 30, the Iowa Department of Education released statewide student enrollment figures for 2013-14. Waukee Community School District (WCSD) continues to be the fastest growing school district in the state gaining 2,093 new students over the last five years. For the 2014-15 school year WCSD enrollment increased by 484 students bringing the certified enrollment for Waukee Schools to 8,773 students. Read More...
Waukee Camps and Clinics
WaukeeBackpack is Waukee Community School District’s “green” approach to distributing information from school sponsored activities and non-profit organizations during the school year. Click here to visit WaukeeBackpack.
February 2015 Update
- Timberline School
- Elementary #8 – Grant Ragan
- Waukee CAPS Facility
- Bus Facility
- Brookview HVAC Upgrade
- Eason Elementary Re-roof
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