The Iowa Valley Community School District is a rural publicschool district headquartered in Marengo, Iowa.[2] The district spans areas of north-central Iowa County, including the town of Marengo, and the unincorporated area of Koszta, Iowa.[3]
The district is a member of the South Iowa Cedar League conference. The mascot for both schools is the Tigers, and the school colors are orange and black.[2]
As of 2018[update], the district shares a superintendent with the English Valleys Community School District. The previous superintendent was scheduled to retire that year so the two districts sought a new one.[4] The district is governed by a five-member board of directors, which meets monthly.
In 2021, Carl Rheingans was hired as superintendent, succeeding Mark Olmstead.[5]
History
Early history
The first high school program in Marengo began in 1869, expanded to a four-year high school curriculum in 1871, and the first graduate was in 1872.[6]
In 1902, lightning struck the school building, destroying the third floor and belfry.[7]
The core of the current building, The Carson High School, named for the former superintendent, was built in 1925 and dedicated in 1927, though the school was still called Marengo High School.
Consolidation
In 1958, the school district consolidated and expanded to incorporate adjacent rural areas and changed the name from Marengo to Iowa Valley (based on the adjacent Iowa River). The name of the high school was also changed from Marengo High School to Iowa Valley High School. In 1972, a gymnasium, band/vocal music room and two science classrooms were added to the west end of the building.[8]
Milestones
1850 - first school formed and log cabin constructed for classes [8]
1861 - Marengo Independent School District formed [8]
1871 - four-year high school curriculum began, orange and black school colors adopted [8]
1892 - a scandal was reported, as the school janitor, appointed by the school board to purchase school books, disappeared after emptying his bank account.[9]
1910 - Marengo designated a normal training school, training students to become teachers[10]
1925 - new high school building (current school) was built, 1903 building was used for elementary school [8]
1954 - junior high wing was added to the high school[11]
1958 - with the decline of rural, one-room schools, the area encompassing Marengo, Cono, Washington and portions of Sumner, Honey Creek and Hilton townships merged to form the Iowa Valley Community School District.[12]
1962 - current elementary school was constructed [8]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Schools
The district operates two schools, both in Marengo:[1]
Iowa Valley Elementary School (K-6)
Iowa Valley Junior-Senior High School (7-12)
The administrative offices are located at the high school.
Iowa Valley Junior-Senior High School
Activities
Students at IVHS can participate in numerous activities, including band, choir, speech, drama, FCS, FFA, Student Council, and Yearbook.[2]