EXTRACURRICULAR EXCELLENCE AND “POWER SKILLS” The baseball-softball complex that recently opened at North Polk serves 115 players across grades seven through twelve who previously practiced on football fields due to inadequate facilities. But for Kline, the investment represents something bigger than athletics. “I think there are a lot of skills such as teamwork and resilience. Power skills are what they call them, collaboration, communication. I mean, there’s all kinds of skills that aren’t directly related houses 12 welding booths, eliminating the need for students to drive 30 minutes to Nevada for welding classes. “Having the welding here I think will be a big addition for us,” Kline notes.“If we have students that are interested in the welding field, they can take those intro classes here with us. Versus in the past if they wanted to take welding classes, they had to drive to Nevada, round trip an hour, they’re missing out on other electives and courses they could be taking.” The construction spree included a new elementary building, high school classroom additions, parking expansions, security enhancements with locked entrance systems, middle school expansions, and a baseball-softball complex. “Since I’ve been here, I just finished my fourth year as superintendent. I think we counted nine major projects of close to a million dollars or more that were completed in the last four years,” Kline explains. The rapid expansion highlights enrollment growth from 1,400 students a decade ago to over 2,400 today. 5+ YEARS + North Polk Community School District Iowa | Minnesota | Wisconsin opnarchitects.com 391 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 09 NORTH POLK COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
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