'A heck of an accomplishment': North Polk High School teacher celebrates 50 years in education

Bruce Bennett had a question for his barber, who's been cutting hair for a while now: "When are you going to give this up?"

The barber, who's a little bit older than him, said: "I've got too many friends — they retired, and they're dead."

Likewise, Bennett, a computer science and financial literacy teacher at North Polk High School in Alleman, hasn't retired. At age 72, he's celebrating 50 years as a teacher in North Polk. The achievement coincides with his 50th wedding anniversary and 50th year as a certified wrestling official.

"Fifty years in the same school district is a heck of an accomplishment," said Superintendent Michael Kline.

More: Voters in Bondurant, North Polk, Waukee school districts pass bond issues. Here's what they buy:

And everyone hopes for 10 more years with the man they know as Mr. Bennett. Some of his former students have even returned to teach at North Polk.

"It doesn't feel any different than any day," Bennett said. "I just feel fortunate to be able to come up here and they let me in the building."

Long career at North Polk started with hot rolls and honey butter

Bennett, 72, is from Algona and wrestled for his high school's successful team.

"A down year is when we got second in state," he said. "We were depressed."

His name regularly appeared in the Kossuth County Advance during his wrestling career, and he was a state champion in 1969.

That led to a scholarship to wrestle at Louisiana State University along with two of his classmates. The Advance reported in 1972 about Bennett and eight other former wrestlers using the Algona High School practice room for workouts while they were home for college.

The article credited Bennett and his fellow Algonans Larry Taylor and Phil Bode with helping the LSU wrestling program through its "growing pains" and into an upward moment with their "aggressive, exciting style."

While at LSU, Bennett got to see the famous "Pistol Pete" Maravich, who played basketball for the Tigers and holds the all-time record for scoring in Division 1 college basketball: 3,667 points.

"We would pause practice and watch him warm up because it was incredible," Bennett said.

Bennett even saw Pistol Pete score 60 points in one game — before there was a 3-point line. He's now part of a rare club of fans who've gotten to see both Maravich and current Iowa Hawkeye guard Caitlin Clark, who could surpass Pistol Pete's record, on their home courts.

Bennett taught math earlier in his career and has coached wrestling and other sports. After LSU, he started his teaching career in Kanawha, south of Britt in northern Iowa. Later, he interviewed at North Polk.

At the time, the district was less centralized, and there were even elementary schools in Elkhart and Sheldahl, Bennett said. About 40% of North Polk's students lived on farms then; now, that number is about 5% in the rapidly-growing and suburbanizing district.

During the interview, Bennett got the chance to visit the high school's kitchen, where there were hot rolls with honey butter to start the day. It was a a selling point that kicked off his half-century tenure with North Polk.

The internet arrives in North Polk; computer program gets national attention

Bennett eventually looked to get his master's degree, and a friend told him computer science was where it was at. He earned his degree over three summers at Northwest Missouri State University in the mid-1980s and soon began teaching programming.

North Polk received a federal Department of Energy grant to bring the internet to the district via an Ames Laboratory connection, making North Polk one of the first smaller districts in Iowa to go online.

Bennett's classroom was next to the media center, and he made a deal with the librarian, who had the only phone in that part of the building: She got access to the internet in exchange for access to her phone, which was necessary for an internet connection at the time.

His students started competing in programming contests and winning national honors. The School Board eventually told Bennett he couldn't keep students in the computer lab past 10 p.m. after they were done with their other activities.

A 1997 Des Moines Register article featured North Polk's computer program and the high school's expanding website. Dozens of students had their own homepages, which featured bouncing basketball gifs and photos of their now-vintage cars.

Autumn Aronson announced on her page that she intended to marry actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, while Stacey Kellogg professed to her obsession with Scooby Doo. Rene Harry, the declared mayor of "Funky Town," loved frogs, while Mike Shores asked anyone who didn't like country star George Strait to leave his page.

Patricia Moore, the media center director at the time, contributed a link for students to check library catalogs throughout the Des Moines metro, while webmaster (and freshman) Omar Tesdall contributed weekly lunch menus and coordinated website content. The site won national awards.

The 1997 North Polk site is archived on the Wayback Machine site. Bennett's computer science students receive honors every year to this day, one of his proudest accomplishments as a teacher.

Mr. Bennett is a man who wears many hats for North Polk

Bennett also is known at North Polk for escorting the senior class trips to Washington, D.C., since starting in the 1970s as a chaperone.

"I've had the pleasure of chaperoning this trip with Mr. Bennett, and it's amazing how much fun the students have with him and how he connects with them," said North Polk Principal Seth Poldberg. He added that Bennett is an incredible educator who has impacted countless student lives in his 50 years with North Polk.

More: After school shooting, Des Moines metro school district to host annual Perry band event

Bennett also drives a bus route for the district, helping out during a time of driver shortages. A Des Moines Register photographer recently rode along, and lots of students made sure to thank Bennett before they got off the bus.

"He's a man that wears many hats," Kline said.

Ultimately, he said, Bennett is a "cheerleader" for his students and creates memories for them.

"Mr. Bennett is an incredible educator who has impacted countless students' lives over the past 50 years at North Polk," Poldberg said.

Chris Higgins covers the eastern and northern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: North Polk High teacher Bruce Bennett celebrates 50 years