May 31, 2024

End of Year Reflections

As the school year draws to a close, we find ourselves in a position of reflection.

Last Sunday I joined with family and friends in reflecting on the remarkable journeys of our graduating students. We celebrated as our 539 seniors donned their caps and gowns and accepted their diplomas. May they continue to dream big, embrace new opportunities, and make a positive impact wherever their paths may lead. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to each graduate for their accomplishments and commend them for their perseverance throughout their high school journey.

With the last day of school behind us, I'm also reflecting back on my first year as superintendent of Linn-Mar. I am so appreciative of the support the school district has received from all of you. This year we welcomed three new members to our Board of Directors, our community approved the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy for another 10 years (through 2035), and we continue to make facility improvements that are focused on the needs of our students. While we faced some hard decisions related to our staffing and our budget, I know we'll continue improving together as we move forward.

Thank you for your support this past year, and in the years ahead. As you’ll see in this newsletter, this fall we’ll expand project-based learning to include more high school students in the Venture Academics program. That’s a great milestone for a program that just started three years ago and has grown into a popular option for our students, and one of the many signals of the district's bright years ahead.

I hope the start of summer brings good things for all of our students and our families.

Amy Kortemeyer

Superintendent, Linn-Mar Community School District

Making Space for More Project-Based Learning

The popularity of the district’s project-based learning courses and the growth in other district programs will lead to an expansion in high school classroom space this fall.

The Learning Resource Center (LRC), located at the corner of 10th St. and 29th Ave., has served many roles over the years: it’s been an elementary, middle and high school for the district, and most recently has housed central office staff. Beginning this summer, the current LRC will be modified to accommodate the needs of Venture Academics, ATLAS and Compass, and will ready to accommodate more than 400 students this fall.

Venture Academics Enrollment Grows Project-Based Learning

Venture Academics was started in 2021 as a new way of teaching traditional coursework to Linn-Mar high school students. In Venture, students have the opportunity to explore traditional coursework in a project-based, community-engaged way. Students interact with and work on projects alongside local businesses and professionals to enrich their learning and see real world applications to the concepts they are learning in class.

Linn-Mar High School students interested in Venture select from a variety of learning pathways called "strands." Each strand is made up of a bundle of courses, including core offerings. Students spend half of their day for a semester in their Venture strand. Strand options available for students include areas like advanced business, earth science, digital design, exploring education, biomedical science, life science, behavioral science, civics, marketing essentials, and creative writing.

In its first year the program supported about 150 high schoolers, but for the 2024-25 year the high school has more than 345 students registered for Venture Academics.

Board Meeting Location Change

The Linn-Mar Board of Directors will be meeting in a new location while the district’s new administration building is constructed.

The June, July, August and September meetings of the Linn-Mar Board of Directors will be held at 5 p.m. in the Marion City Council Chambers, 1225 6th Avenue, Marion, IA.

All meeting details will continue to be posted on the district’s website.

Summer Hours and Department Locations for Central Office/ LRC

From June 3 through August 2 LRC/Central Offices will be staffed and open 8:00-4:00 Monday through Thursday with district offices closed on Fridays. To locate LRC staff in their temporary locations, please visit our website.

This year Venture Academics Earth Science students worked with the city of Marion to name an unnamed tributary/creek.

Venture Life Science students visited the Monarch Research Station and learned about their efforts to increase the monarch population and the importance of pollinators on biodiversity and agriculture.

In addition to the expansion of the district’s Venture Academics program, the remodel also will support growing needs in two additional programs housed in the current LRC.

ATLAS (Achieving Transition through Learning, Advancement and Success) is a Linn-Mar program that supports children living at the Four Oaks residential facility in Marion. The district previously supported nine students in the Atlas program and has seen that number double.
Compass is the district’s alternative high school that also supports students from both Linn-Mar and Marion CSD through a sharing agreement. Compass provides a smaller high school environment, schedule flexibility, and other accommodations to support students who benefit from an alternative high school program. The district expanded Compass to support 10th graders in addition to 11th and 12th grades. Together the two districts have 110 students attending the program.

New Administrative Building Opens This Fall

The central office staff currently housed in the LRC will move to temporary district office locations during the summer before relocating to a new administrative building this fall. The administrative building, being built near Excelsior Middle School, will house district leadership and administrative functions like communications, finance/payroll, human resources, student support services, teaching and learning, technology and members of the cabinet. The building also will include a new meeting space designed to support staff training needs, and help improve the district’s ability to live stream board meetings. The new administrative building has a target completion date of late September.

2024-25 Calendar Changes

This year Linn County intends to use four of our buildings (Boulder Peak, Linn Grove, Indian Creek, and Excelsior) as polling places on November 5. At it's May meeting, the district's Board of Directors approved changes for our 2024-25 calendar that includes changing November 5 to a professional development day and a non-attendance day for students. The board also approved moving professional development days from October 28 to November 4 and June 4 to November 5.

These changes will allow us to limit student presence in our buildings on election days when the voting and general public have wider, more unfettered access to our buildings.

2024-2025 School Calendar

Celebrating our Volunteers and LIONS Award Winners

Each year, Linn-Mar recognizes and rewards individuals exemplifying hard work and behaviors that support/further the mission, goals, values, and initiatives of the Linn-Mar Community School District with a special LIONS award recognition event. The individuals honored during this event have made a significant impact at Linn-Mar, and we're proud to have had the opportunity to recognize them this spring!

Lindsey Starmer, Optimizer for Excellence in Teamwork

Angela Burke, Newcomer Award for Excellence in New Ideas

Hillary Hunter, Newcomer Award for Excellence in New Ideas

Deb Bundy, Service Award for Excellence in Superior Performance

Broc Galbreath, Lion Pride Award – Going the Extra Mile

Amy Stevens,

The Shirley Pantini Award

Kim Buelt, Living Legend Award for Excellence in Leadership

Tracy Gettemy, Innovator for Excellence in Positive Change

Heather Jordan, Optimizer for Excellence in Teamwork

Volunteer Recognition

This spring the district also recognized three of our Linn-Mar volunteers for their volunteer commitment to the district. Volunteers are critical to supporting our district work, and we're grateful for all of them including these three who received special recognition this year:

Diane Bean, Unsung Hero Award
Tabitha Lightfoot, Above and Beyond Award
Margean Gardner, Making a Difference Award

Please join us in congratulating this group of individuals for their contributions to the district!

Linn-Mar Retiree Celebrations

As we bid farewell to another school year, we also take a moment to honor those who have dedicated their careers to shaping the hearts and minds of our students.

Each retiree from our district has left an indelible mark on our district, enriching the lives of countless students and colleagues alike. Their unwavering commitment to education, passion for teaching, and tireless efforts have truly made a difference in our community. Please join us in thanking them for their support of our district!

Reminder: Annual Notices

Annual notices are always available on the district website.

Inspire Learning. Unlock Potential. Empower Achievement.