Category Archives: Schools

Jul 19

Sounds painful

Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

New AEA 267 assistant chief hopes to impact students AFFECT. THE WORD IS “AFFECT.” Or the phrase is “have an effect on” (which wouldn’t fit for print headline purposes, I get). My theory is that “impact” has wormed its way … Continue reading →

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Jul 15

Ghost-busting in Farrar

Posted on Friday, July 15, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

The school building in Farrar has been closed for nearly 15 years, but it’s found new life. Or afterlife. Or life but not life as we know it. It’s haunted, or so the “paranormal enthusiasts” say. Saturday night — coincidentally … Continue reading →

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Jul 13

K is for Kellogg

Posted on Wednesday, July 13, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

August 10, 2008: The Kellogg school building has been successfully repurposed into apartments. Kellogg became part of the Newton school district in 1957. The school was used for an unknown period after that as an elementary. (Sorry I don’t have … Continue reading →

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Jul 12

Vincent school building to be torn down

Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, at 10:06 AM by Jeff

I featured the Vincent school building in my alphabetical series (which is still going on; just search the Sequences category). It didn’t look in good shape. It turns out the building is indeed abandoned and the town has been awarded … Continue reading →

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Jul 08

L is for Lovilia

Posted on Friday, July 8, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

November 12, 2008: Lovilia school building (1920) and closeup, below. Brian McMillin of Iowa Backroads wrote some history of the Lovilia school on his blog. Two State Board of Education documents tell a fuller story about the end of the … Continue reading →

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Jun 30

Map of Iowa school enrollment changes, 2001-2015

Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I have created a color-coded map of Iowa that shows changes in certified enrollment between 2001-02 and 2015-16. Certified enrollment is not a direct correlation with head count, because of certain formulas, but it’s the number used for all state … Continue reading →

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Jun 29

Iowa’s largest enrollment gainers, 2001-2015

Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, at 10:10 AM by Jeff

Statewide student enrollment over the past decade and a half tells a different story than a district-by-district breakdown: Rural areas continue to be drained of students while the gains are concentrated in the suburbs. By the raw certified enrollment total, … Continue reading →

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Jun 28

Smallest districts of 1996 by enrollment — where are they now?

Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

I have a map of the state of Iowa’s school districts as they were in the 1996-97 school year. As with any district map, it doesn’t reflect what sharing arrangements were at the time, but counting up the numbers then … Continue reading →

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Jun 27

Largest one-high school areas in Iowa

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

This is a list of the top 10 places in Iowa, by size, served by one high school, in five-year increments. In most cases, it involves whole-grade sharing followed some time later by consolidation, but in some cases there is … Continue reading →

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Jun 23

The rise of the 400-square-mile high school, part 4

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2016, at 10:00 AM by Jeff

October 3, 2015: Harmony High School, a one-story building at the intersection of J46 and W46, will become the sole building for Harmony this fall, with all elementary students relocating here from Bonaparte. Junior high and high school students will go … Continue reading →

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