Southdale Elementary School is a Wonderful School Located in the Cedar Valley

After substitute teaching at Southdale Elementary on two seperate occasions I was more than impressed. I have also subbed in several elementary schools throughout the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area. None has impressed me more than Southdale. The teachers are bright and friendly, as is the rest of the staff. The best part about being at Southdale was how evident it was that the teachers WANTED to be there and it was quite evident that they loved their jobs and loved teaching. The discipline plan at Southdale is highly effective and is implemented throughout the entire school. Like many schools in the area, Southdale Elementary incorporates the Character Counts campain and attempts to emulate the pillars of character through the student body and staff. The students themselves were also highly impressive through their character and especially their responsibility. They treated each other with respect for the most part and seemed to really appreciate their guest teacher.

Southdale also soars in their academic skills. According to the annual report of excellence available at: http://www.cedar-falls.k12.ia.us/pdfs/reportonexcellence.pdf, Southdale school soared in their ITBS math scores. The average for Southdale Elementary was a score of 94 in Math, coming in second only to Orchard Hill Elementary. The reading score was even more impressive with a score of 94, which is the highest in the district!

Southdale also received the highest score in Science at 94.8! First runner up for Science was Hansen Elementary with a score of 94.4.

Many of the Elementary Schools in Cedar Falls are impressive, however, Southdale has the highest academic records in the district and has a great staff!

Current enrollment is 383, making Southdale the 4th largest Elementary School in Cedar Falls.

Southdale also has an impressive attendance rate of 97%.

The last major statistic I'll mention deals with proficiency in Reading and Math. Once again, Southdale tops the charts with a score of 94% of their students. It is hard to beat these numbers and Southdale Elementary is certainly doing an impressive job!