Waukee Community School District

4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 THE WAUKEE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT The District is also the fastest-growing one in the state, with an average of 450-500 new students each year. Accommodating that growth, while still maintaining its 100-year- old, small-town ethos, is a key focus of WCSD’s Superintendent, Dr. Brad Buck. “One of the things that’s been special about Waukee is that we’ve tried to feel like a smaller district with all the amenities of a larger one,” he states. “We try to stay small, but experience big. We work hard to focus on the whole child; we want them academically healthy, emotionally healthy, with lots of access to opportunities for activities, programs, and athletics.” Teachers Make it Work Regarding its rigorous academic curriculum, WCSD’s Human Resources Director, Roxy Livermore, believes that “the best thing about Waukee is our reputation in how we teach our kids. And a big part of that is the support we give our new teachers.” “First-year teachers have instructional support from teachers who are mentors,” she explains. “It’s not jumping in and saying ‘Good luck, here you go.’ We will walk along and co-teach with you because we want you long-term with us and we want you to feel that support.” Added to that support are healthy compensation and benefits packages, flexible working hours and dress codes, and top-notch training and development programs. “We know that we’re educating students, so we need to educate ourselves to constantly get better,” says Livermore. “We have a budget for training and development.” All of WCSD’s teachers are certified and most have three or more years’ experience. No wonder the District’s graduation rate is 98%. Caring for the Whole Student Regarding students’ emotional health, Buck reports that in addition to school counselors in all of its schools, the District has a number of community partners that provide supplementary, onsite counseling services, making sure that children are getting access to any mental health support they might need, even during the school day. Also, the District’s Student Assistance Program, which is available 24/7, provides support to students and their families through Drone shot of the Waukee High School Campus