Southeast Polk High School

"The majority of these low ratings that I am reading through lack any value or decent explanation. Southeast Polk was for me and continues to be a great school. I had a wonderful experience there along with my siblings who have graduated and are also still students there. The teachers I had were caring and challenging. I was given the opportunity to participate in many different activities and had a blast competing at the top levels. Not to mention the facilities are second to none. No school anywhere is perfect, but you can only put so much blame on a school. As a student, it is up to you to determine how much you care about your success and how hard you are willing to work in your academics, or anything, no matter your surroundings. I really think SEP offers students so many opportunities to be involved in many different things and learn a lot. So, it is too bad to see all of the mostly unwarranted bad reviews. Anyways, I enjoy going back to events at SEP and love the community and district. Go Rams!"

"I am a third generation graduate of the Southeast Polk Community School District. When I was in school, I hated it; reflecting back and comparing to the near future of what my daughter will face in a different School district, I could rest a little bit easier if she were to have my high school experience. Clearly students are defining the rating of SEP on Google; they need to vent their frustrations...so what? The problem is adults see this and make decisions where to move, where to send their kids to school, & where they can receive a quality education. SEP has always been a good district even while increasing in size exponentially since before 1964. This isn't an apology for the teachers and staff by any means - I moved forward in my education, all the way to a PhD. And the things I have to say about modern pedagogy would make some of these kids reviewing one star blush - I am highly critical of education and I understand student frustrations. But realize, if your parents had picked a Des Moines Public School to send you to, your odds of getting through drop...substantially. And if you don't get through, your life will be very difficult. If you do get through, your life will be difficult; but, once you make it through, options open up - choice, personal autonomy, etc., are instantly delivered. And if your mindset is stuck with how horrible it was, then you really are not mature enough for the freedom bestowed on you. You will make poor decisions and you'll regret it more and more. And for those who don't want to learn about Venezuela in the 1600s cause you'll never need it - well, if you focus too much on what's directly in front of you, then you miss out on a lot of other things happening. The trend is currently to stuff kids into this one-dimensional STEM ideology, forgetting that a good education is a rounded education (hence, STEAM is now being pushed, eventually to show just what a steamer it's ideology is founded upon). Stop looking at just the topic, stop looking at just the subject of the class in which it rests because in "Social Studies" you're not just learning social studies; you're developing skills that draw from a myriad of disciplines. So after studying Venezuela, ask yourself "when will I ever use this?" You'll say never, but I'll give you the correct answer - the next class you have scheduled you'll be using what you learned from studying Venezuela in the 1600s. If you complain about it too much, then any reasoning skills or the ability to argue will get snuffed out and you'll be a mindless drone working on today's modern form of scholasticism (i.e., we know this or that is true because this guy said so). So is SEP a bad school? No. Is it a good school? Yes. Is it the ideal school? There's not one in the United States that even comes close. If you are the frustrated, help yourself out by learning how to actually challenge the teachers - they're not geniuses, but if you argue "Venezuela sucks!", then, ipso facto, you lose the argument. If you were to say something like "Teacher, Sir/Ma'am... Yes, thank you. I would like to say that I appreciate the rich history of Venezuela; however, given the current geopolitical state of the world today, I am more inclined to study this topic that I am interested in regarding social studies as it will benefit us all to a greater extent for this reason and this reason and this reason and I believe my classmates are in agreement with me. Isn't that right Ted? And Kimmy, we were just talking about this; you agree, right? ...And Jenkins? ...And Suzy? ...And Kowalski, you were really on roll about this; you got my back, right?", then maybe you could stay interested and accelerate your learning. *Note: Venezuela didn't exist in the 1600s; so the kid upset studying this topic - probably not in a position to criticize when it's supported only by an annoying whine & is dishonest at the most blatant of face value possible."

"There's not a rating low enough feel like things should be fixed here . sort ur life If u 5 stared u were either payed or don't know what ur doing"

"I love the teachers they helped me through all my hard times but the students are all jackasses. I don't reccomend this place for good natured children"

"This school provides the education my student needs and offers the proper classes she needs for extra curricular. I have had no issues with the board/school and the atmosphere around her is just the perfect type."