Beth Happe, a consultant for school improvement with the Department of Education, summed up the Lynnville-Sully School District site visit March 6-7 best, “It is apparent that everyone has great pride in your school and community, and everyone is fighting for the same cause. From your vision and mission statements displayed throughout the school and even painted on the cafeteria walls, we noticed your high expectations of your administration, staff, and students. Your district has many, many strengths to be proud of.”

The L-S School is required to have a site visit from the State Board of Education every five years. This year, the visit was condensed into two days because of inclement weather. Along with Happe, Leanne Chapman-Thill, AEA 11 Regional Director; Michael Jepson, Curriculum Director and Assistant Elementary Principal at Williamsburg CSD; Angela Livezey, Elementary Principal at North Mahaska CSD; Carol Price, AEA 11 Consultant; David Roby, High School Principal at Twin Cedars CSD; and Peggy Van Kirk, Department of Education Special Education Monitoring Cadre; spent two days interviewing students, faculty, administration, community members, and business persons, as well as touring the L-S campus. From early morning into the evening hours, the state visit team covered all facets of the school district, interviewing more than 60 individuals and 12 teams.

During the Highlight Meeting at the close of the audit that was open to the public, each Department of Education team member reported on the strengths and areas for improvement in seven different categories. In the leadership category, Roby thanked L-S for the opportunity to visit their school and praised the leadership of the district, recognizing the collaborative efforts amongst administration, school board, community, and parents, and admitted he had already called back to his district with some ideas that could be implemented at Twin Cedars. “You have hard workers and they care deeply; everyone clearly bleeds blue and yellow,” concluded Roby, making those in attendance smile with pride.