History

By 1904, the number of public schools in Waterloo was not evenly distributed: eight public and three parochial schools were located on the East Side.

The construction and location of the schools reflected rapid industrial development and the related boost in population during the 1890s. Washington, Fiske, and McKinley Schools were all located in developing areas of the workingman’s housing by 1904. Children of immigrants working in factories and for the Illinois Central Railroad were among those attending the parochial schools. In addition, the Illinois Central Railroad operated a training school for teenage boys in the early 1900s.

West Side school locations and the paucity of them reflected the slower but steady development there. It was not until the creation of the Westfield industrial sector in 1903 that the West Side saw extensive factory-related development. In 1904 only Emerson School at Randolph and West Second Street and Lowell School at 1223 Washington Street reflected the residential development tied to the Third Street streetcar line.

Dramatic increases in school enrollment mirrored the regular doubling in population for all of Waterloo in the early 20^th century.  Enrollment increased steadily on both sides of the river, although the east side continued to show higher numbers. The table below shows enrollment increases between 1904 and 1926 for the east and west sides of town.

ENROLLMENT

The Waterloo school districts (both the East District and the West District) embarked upon new construction programs entirely new schools and massive additions to house the hordes of students. By 1928 there were ten schools on the East Side, including five built after 1904 Lafayette, Roosevelt, Frances Grout, Grant and Lincoln. The West Side had nine schools in 1928. New construction included three new elementary schools and additions to two more, which doubled their capacities. For example, Emerson was built in 1893 for $8,600; the additions made in 1906 and 1916 cost $20,490 and $35,700, respectively.

During the industrial development period of Waterloo’s history, the early 20^th century, the districts built grand new high schools to accommodate the many new students. Designed by local architect Mortimer Cleveland, the present East High school opened with considerable fanfare in 1919. It was built on High Street between Lime and Vine Streets the site of the first East High School built in 1874. Additions and extensive remodeling were done in 1939, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1965, 2002, 2006 and 2007.

In 1922 construction on the West Side high school was completed at 1115 West 5^th Street. The unsettled times surrounding World War I had delayed its construction. Waterloo West High School exhibited the latest in school design, a reflection of the growing appreciation for education in America. Its architect, William ‘Bull’ Ittner of St. Louis, was a nationally known authority on school design. The dedicatory plaque carries this inscription: ‘Dedicated to the students of Waterloo High School who offered their lives to their country 1917 - 1919.’ Both junior and senior high students attended this school until 1955 when the present West High School was opened at Ridgeway Avenue and Baltimore Street. The Fifth Street building served as a junior high/intermediate/middle and was known as West Junior High School and later West Intermediate and West Middle School before it was demolished.

The original Washington Irving Elementary School and Lincoln Elementary were both built in 1913. The new Irving Elementary opened in the fall of 2003 and was built on the same grounds that the original West High and West Junior/Intermediate/Middle School stood. The new Lincoln Elementary opened in 2003 at 302 Cedar Bend Street on property donated by the City of Waterloo, through the Waterloo Water Works Board of Trustees.

In 1914 Edison Elementary School at 800 Rock Island Avenue was built to replace the Westfield School. A prized possession of the school is a letter Thomas Edison wrote to the students when he learned that they had voted to name their school after him.

Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School was built in 1915. Located on Mobile Street and Cottage Streets, additions were made in 1952 and 1957 and an annex was built in 1962. In 1970 the building was remodeled for the Bridgeway Project, an alternative educational program for elementary students. The Bridgeway program maintained minority and non-minority student enrollment percentages at 50:50 while attracting over 300 children each year from throughout the district. That building was razed and has been replaced with the new Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence built at the same location, opening in August of 2002.

In 1919 Kingsley Elementary School, located at Sunset Road and Prospect Boulevard, was completed. There have been two additions to the school?one in 1952 and another in 1958. In 2005, Kingsley was closed for renovations and reopened in the fall of 2006.

Roosevelt Elementary School at 200 Arlington Street was built in 1921. Construction of an addition and remodeling of the original building in 1954 created a unique enrichment room adapted to teaching art, music, and children’s literature. It was closed and renovated into senior housing.

Lowell (the second building to be known as Lowell) was erected at 1628 Washington Street in 1931. Because it was a W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) project, Lowell has a number of unusual features such as a lobby fountain, a fishpond and fireplace.  Phased renovations were completed at Lowell 2004 – 2008.  Lowell was named after American poet James Russell Lowell. 

Longfellow Elementary School at 233 Edwards Street was completed in 1940 and has several unusual features. Between each classroom is a workroom and the school has a little theatre in addition to a large stage in the gymnasium. In 1959 an annex was built to the school. Longfellow replaced Alcott, John Fiske, and Washington Schools. Longfellow was closed at the end of the 2007-08 school year and re-opened in the fall of 2009 to house several district alternative programs.

In 1942 through the efforts of many citizens living on the East and West Independent School Districts and after operating as separate entities for 76 years, the two districts merged as one becoming the Independent School District of Waterloo. The student enrollment at the time of the merger was 8,313.

In 1947 three sub-district school districts were reorganized and merged with the Waterloo Schools, Thies, Cushman and Pleasant Dale. Thies School, on Highway 57, was used for several years. Mr. John Thies was a former member of the East Waterloo Board of Directors.

Van Eaton School, at 2170 Burton Avenue, was built in 1942 as Cushman Heights School. After the merger, it was remodeled and renamed Van Eaton School. It was closed in 1978.

The third school involved in that merger, Pleasant Dale School, located at the junction of Highways 57 and 63, closed in 1947, the year the merger took place. The total enrollment for the district in 1950 was 9,407 students.

Black Hawk Elementary School, 1700 Downing Avenue, was constructed in 1950, and an addition was made in 1967. It continues to operate as a K-5 school.

For many years, Kittrell School was the largest elementary school in the district. Built in 1950, at 1520 Easton Avenue, it was named for Superintendent Charles A. Kittrell. In 1962 a large annex was built south of the original structure. Charles A. Kittrell served as Superintendent of the Waterloo Independent School District from 1929 until his death in 1942. In the fall of 2009 the new Kittrell Elementary School was opened just southeast of the old building at 1304 Oregon Street, Waterloo, IA 50702.

The junior high school built at the corner of Independence Avenue and Idaho Street in 1953 was named McKinstry in honor of a former president of the Board of Education. McKinstry School was converted from a junior high facility to an elementary school in 1981. Mr. Charles S. McKinstry was an eminent community leader and involved in many civic activities. To honor him, the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce named him to Waterloo?s Hall of Fame. In January 2010, McKinstry was closed as an elementary school and a new elementary school called Highland was opened just south of McKinstry at 812 Idaho Street, Waterloo, IA 50703.

Logan Junior High was also built in 1953 at 1515 Logan Avenue and named for, a beloved superintendent. Both Logan Junior High and McKinstry Junior High were constructed from the same blueprints. District records show the cost for building each of the schools was approximately $1,500,000. Jack M. Logan served as superintendent of the East Waterloo Schools from 1932 to 1942 and of the newly reorganized Independent School District of Waterloo from 1942 to 1962 (a total 30 years). Logan Middle School was closed at the end of the 2008 ? 09 school year. George Washington Carver Academy was opened just south and west of the old Logan in fall of 2009 at 1505 Logan Avenue. Partnering with the Iowa State Extension, Black Hawk County the Dick Young Greenhouse was built with a gift of $200,000 from the Young Family Foundation, as part of George Washington Carver Academy.

Edison Junior High was constructed in 1955 as one of several additions made to Edison Elementary School. For many years the building housed both elementary and junior high students. In 1988, as part of the district’s reorganization plan, Edison became an elementary school. It continues to operate as a prek-5.

It was also in 1955 that the new West High School opened on Ridgeway Avenue and Baltimore Street.  At this time, the district?s enrollment reached 12,000 students. Additions were completed in 2002, 2007, and 2009.

The year 1964 brought a major reorganization to the district through the concurrent action of the Boards of Education of the East Waterloo Township Schools and the Orange Consolidated Schools and the merger of several school districts. This resulted in extensive expansion of the Waterloo district to both the south and east. Because of the boundary change and school reorganization laws, it was necessary for the Waterloo Independent

School district to change its name to the Waterloo Community School District.

This reorganization added several buildings to the district and brought the district’s enrollment to 18,856 students. Added were Jewett Elementary in Evansdale (now closed); Elk Run Elementary in Elk Run Heights (now closed); Orange Elementary; Hewitt Elementary (now closed); Cresthaven Elementary (now closed) and Washburn Elementary School in Washburn (closed in 1987). In 2007, Elk Run Elementary and Jewett Elementary closed and reopened as the new Poyner Elementary in Evansdale, adjacent to Bunger Middle School Campus.

Bunger Junior High School was started by citizens of Evansdale and East Waterloo Township. It was completed by the Waterloo School District in 1965 after the reorganization and merger. It was closed in 1988, reopening briefly  as Bunger School of Technology, and then once again returning as Bunger Middle School. In 2003, ten classrooms were added.

In 1964 the Administration Building was built at 1516 Washington Street to provide centralized facilities for administrative and supervisory personnel.  It is now known as the Education Service Center.

Hoover Junior High School at 630 Hillcrest Road was completed in 1967 at an estimated cost of $1,600,000. It?s now a middle school. Click here to view the enrollment history for Hoover. 

Other schools built in 1967 led to the district’s all time high enrollment of 19,873 students.  Those builings included Greenbrier, Westridge, Cedar Terrace, and Devonshire Schools.  There were three high schools, seven junior high buildings, and twenty-six elementary buildings in 1967. These schools are now closed due to loss of jobs in the area and the subsequent population loss. In 1981, the enrollment of the district dropped to 13,532 and to 11,526 in 1991.

Central High School opened at Huntington and Hackett Roads in 1972 at an estimated cost of $4,000,000. When Central High opened, Orange High School closed. Orange had a long and rich history, graduating its first class of nine students in 1918. The last class to graduate from Orange High in 1972 had 110 students. In 1988, as part of the district?s reorganization plan, Central was closed as a high school and reopened as an intermediate school and then later converted to a middle school.  Click here to view enrollment history for Central Middle School. 

The passage by the voters of Black Hawk County of the One Cent Local Option Tax for Schools in 1999 led to extensive facility improvements and replacements. Since its passage, the District has constructed seven new elementary schools, completely remodeled two elementary schools, constructed one new middle school and completed multi-phased projects at the middle and high schools.

The first new elementary school was Cunningham School for Excellence, built to replace Grant Elementary. Improvements at both East High and West High began what were to be multi-phased renovations. A new Irving Elementary soon followed on the site of the former West Middle School.

Lincoln Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary closed and students moved to the new Lincoln and Cunningham. Lou Henry Elementary, adjacent to Hoover Middle School, and a renovated Kingsley Elementary, and Lowell Elementary soon followed. Poyner Elementary opened at 1138 Central Avenue, Evansdale, IA 50707 in 2006, a combination of Jewett Elementary in Evansdale and Elk Run Elementary in Elk Run Heights. Improvements at Bunger, Central, and Hoover Middle Schools have added space and program capabilities.

In 2006, voters approved a ten year extension of the One Cent Option Tax, allowing further facility improvements to take place.

Logan Middle School was closed in 2008.  The George Washington Carver Academy, formerly Logan Middle School, opened for the 2009-10 school year focusing on a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math curriculum.  The new school also houses the Dick Young Greenhouse.  Both buildings are located at 1505 Logan Avenue. 

The new Kittrell Elementary, 1520 Easton Avenue, was opened for the 2009-10 school year as well.  The old Kittrell was demolished. 

McKinstry Elementary was closed in the winter of 2009.  A new Highland Elementary, formally McKinstry, opened in January 2010 located at 812 Idaho Street. 

Black Hawk Elementary closed in June 2009 with students being transferred to Edison Elementary.  A new elementary for these students will be built at the old Black Hawk site, set to open for the 2011-12 school year. 

Expo and the WEBC/STAR-C buildings closed December 2010 and reopened at McKinstry’s old site, 1410 Independence Avenue, and operate as the Expo Alternative Learning Center. 

Today the district operates 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and two Pre-K schools, with 10,555 students. Thirteen are elementary schools for students in pre-kindergarten through grade five including two pre-k buildings Freeburg Preschool and Elk Run Preschool, four middle schools for grades six through eight, and three are high schools East, West and Expo.  The latter is the district’s alternative high school, located at 927 Franklin Street, the one-time home of Hawthorne Elementary School.  The district also hosts a building supporting WEBC and STAR-C. 

(Sources: Waterloo Community Schools Alumni Directory 1853-1992;
;Waterloo Community School District History of Schools:  by Arlis Swartzendruber, superintendent 
Credits: Information for this article was compiled from these sources:
Research material from the archives of the Grout Museum of History and ScienceResearch material from historians James Sage, Helen Hawkins, and Ernie Barker ;Waterloo Factory City of Iowa: by Beving Long