Our Mission At Work
The Waukee Community Schools Foundation strives to be the go-to nonprofit within the district. Click through the stories below to learn more about the ways we support our students and educators.
Mental Health Assistance
The Foundation has committed to continuing and expanding a student leadership & mentorship program at four schools in the district. The first year of the Mercer Elite Program at Prairieview helped a select group of students focus on individual goal-setting and skill development. By the end of the year, the students’ school attendance had increased by 62%.
Gross Motor Room
The Foundation funded new toys and experiences at Grant Ragan Elementary. The majority of students who use the room have social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs that prevent them from accessing the same opportunities as their peers.
Musical Collaboration
The Foundation helped fund the multi-year Northwest/Waukee Composer in Residence Program, an annual event where the two auditioned vocal music ensembles from each high school will combine to commission a work by a living composer to premiere together.
Access to Opportunities
The Waukee Community Schools Foundation received a $10,000 Casey’s Cash for Classrooms grant for added transportation costs within the school district. The District identified a need for additional bus routes to ensure students who lacked transportation could get home from after-school sports and activities.
Health & Wellness Needs
The Foundation works to make connections and collaborates to find solutions to meet the wellness needs of our students. The Environmental Health Department at Pioneer Seeds made a large in-kind donation of forehead and infrared thermometers, ensuring every school nurse has essential supplies on-hand.
Learning at Home, Too!
A Foundation grant provided funding for at-home STEAM kits for students to experience science, technology, engineering, art, and math opportunities in their own homes.
High Priority Investment
The Waukee Community Schools Foundation is making a major investment in the classroom experience of every single Waukee student. The Foundation provided a $19,000 Professional Development Grant to support the implementation of an Academic and Social Emotional Learning framework.
Diverse Literature
The Foundation volunteered to pick up books from the United Way of Central Iowa’s Stuff the Bus Book Drive. The books are distributed to Waukee students at Picnic and Play locations throughout the summer months.
APEX Harvest
Waukee APEX Associates in the area of Bioscience & Value Added Agriculture harvested and enjoyed lettuce grown in a lab. A Foundation grant provided the seed starts for the project.
Making a Difference
The Foundation is honored to come alongside the District to recognize people in our schools who are Making a Difference. During the 2021-2022 school year, the District recognized 404 students and employees! Each honoree received a magnet as a small token of gratitude.
Filling the Fridge
In partnership with the food rescue program at Waukee Area Christian Services, Foundation volunteers deliver food to the refrigerators in the Waukee High School Athletic Department twice a week, ensuring student athletes do not go hungry after school.
Seal of Biliteracy
A Foundation grant provided fees for 50 Waukee students to take the exam for the Bilingual/Multilingual Seal of Literacy. A total of 37 students passed the exam, which is a very high rate! Congratulations to these students.
Sparkle Squad
The Foundation values partnerships with local business owners to help achieve a common goal. Hyper Energy Bar donated proceeds from their Sparkle Special drink for new uniforms for the Sparkle Squads at both high schools.
Community Education Scholarships
The Foundation provided Waukee Community Education with a grant for scholarships to ensure to every student has the opportunity to access fun learning experiences.
Teaching Band Instruments
The Foundation joined the Waukee Community Schools District in providing teaching instruments for fifth-grade classrooms in all ten elementary school buildings. We are grateful to the City of Urbandale for partnering with us to fund these instruments at the three Urbandale-resident elementary schools of Shuler, Radiant, and Walnut Hills.
Sugar Creek Start-up
The Foundation provided the District’s 10th elementary school, Sugar Creek, with a start-up grant to purchase gross motor skills equipment. This equipment drives motor skill development, encourages social aptitude in play spaces, and provides inclusive equipment and space to accommodate each student’s unique developmental and growth goals.
Experiencing Art
Have you seen the brightly colored murals at Brookview, Walnut Hills, Woodland Hills, and Waukee Middle School? A Foundation grant helped pay for these projects, pairing students with a professional artist to design, sketch, and paint the murals. Students in each building are able to say they left a permanent reminder of their time there!
Outdoor Classroom
The Foundation partnered with Eason Elementary’s PTO to fund an Outdoor Classroom. Students love the fresh air, natural surroundings, and ability to change up the classroom routine! The Foundation is honored to have been part of this innovative idea.
Climbing Wall
Students at Brookview Elementary are experiencing P.E. in an entirely new way, thanks to a new climbing wall in the gymnasium! A Foundation grant funded the project as a way to create new and fun wellness opportunities for students.
Healthy Hearts
Students at Waukee Middle School are learning how to use the information their bodies give them to enhance their overall wellbeing. The Foundation provided a grant to purchase Polar GoFit Heart Sensors for every WMS student to use during their Physical Education classes. The sensors help guide students into healthy heart zones and help teachers accurately assess student productivity and fitness.
Mindfulness Resources
Students at Grant Ragan Elementary are using new mindfulness resources throughout the day. One resource is a game that kids can choose to play first thing in the morning. It allows kids to explore emotional situations; to help recognize, name, and process experiences that bring up strong emotions.
Decoder Readers
Students at Radiant Elementary will get extra help in reading thanks to a partnership between the Foundation and Radiant PTO. Testing data shows first, second, and third grade students, highly impacted by missed instruction during the pandemic, are needing new resources to close learning gaps. Decodable readers are specially written texts that introduce only a few new words and sounds at each stage.
Sensory Library
Squish balls, essential oils, and stuffies are now available for students and teachers at Eason Elementary. They’re part of the new Sensory Library. These items are meant to help with behaviors, feelings, and emotions that may interfere with classroom learning.
Soccer Help
The Foundation partnered with Northwest High School Athletic Boosters to purchase cleats, shinguards, soccer balls, and team warmup jackets for five English Language learners. The students are new to Waukee and experiencing language and cultural barriers. Participation in after-school sports and activities drives the Foundation's goals to ensure all students have access to opportunities that enhance wellness and sense of belonging.
EMT/CNA Simulation Mannequin
Waukee APEX student associates in the areas of CNA and EMT are able to practice 20 real-life procedures on an Adult Nursing Mannikin. A Foundation grant helped purchase the Mannikin to provide realistic, interactive scenarios for students.
Teaching Band Instruments
The Foundation partnered with the City of Urbandale to provide teaching instruments to several 5th grade band directors in the district. Directors use the instruments to lead and demonstrate to students experiencing band for the first time!
Sugar Creek Coffee Cart
The Foundation partnered with Nick Hageman State Farm Insurance to fund a Coffee Cart at Sugar Creek Elementary. The cart is run by Sugar Creek’s Special Education Department every Friday morning. It builds life skills and encourages a sense of belonging by empowering students to run the intiative collaboratively.
WHS Wall Wrap
The WHS Sophomore Student Council came to the Foundation with an idea to update this area of the school with a new image to empower students to tap into the "warrior" inside them every time they walk by! We are grateful to the Dallas County Foundation for helping fund this project.