Linn-Mar High School

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Address
Linn-Mar High School
3111 North 10th Street Marion, Iowa, Linn County, 52302 USA
Information
School district	Linn-Mar Community School District
Affiliation(s)	Mississippi Valley Conference^[1]
Superintendent	Katie Mulholland
Principal	Jerry Van Dyke
Vice principal	Jeff Gustason, Kim Buelt
Students	1,710
Type	Public Secondary
Grades	9-12
Mascot	Lion
Team name	Lions
School Colour(s)	Red and Black
Established	1959
Homepage	http://www.linnmar.k12.ia.us/Schools/HS/index.asp

Linn-Mar High School is part of the Linn-Mar Community School District. Linn-Mar High School is located on 3111 North Tenth Street, Marion, Iowa. Linn-Mar High School is one of the larger schools in the state of Iowa with over 1,700 students attending.

1 History and Future of Linn-Mar High School
2 Scheduling
3 New Renovations
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History and Future of Linn-Mar High School

Linn-Mar High School was created in 1959 and renovated several times throughout its history. Students from Marion Independent School District have traditionally referred to Linn-Mar as "Cowpie High."

In January 2006, a $12 million bond vote was passed allowing significant improvements to be made throughout the High School. The Four-Corners area will be renovated: the band and choir rooms will be relocated behind the auditorium and various classrooms will be redone.

[edit] Scheduling

Linn-Mar High School operates under Modified Block Schedule [1]

Linn-Mar High School operates an eight-period/four-block schedule. Math, music, and foreign language courses meet for forty minutes per day for four consecutive quarters. All other courses meet for 85 minutes per day for one, two, or three consecutive quarters.

Linn-Mar High School has used the modified block schedule since the 1999-2000 school year. It was adopted in order to: a) maximize the number of courses that a student could take in a four-year period, b) match content areas with appropriate class lengths, and c) assure that the time allotment enables teachers to address multiple learning styles of students.

Math, music, and foreign language courses are designated as "skinny" courses (forty-minutes) because of the sequential nature of the content/subject matter. For example, a student who completes first level Spanish is best-served by taking level two Spanish during the next fall rather than waiting until mid-year. A science course such as Chemistry, however, can make great use of blocks to accommodate lab activities, group projects, and other exploratory activities. Allowing for extended periods of time for multiple learning activities helps to engage traditional, visual, and kinesthetic learners.

Most L-MHS Advanced Placement (AP) courses are three quarters in length, begin in the 2nd quarter, and meet for 85 minutes per day. This is done to minimize the length of time between the conclusion of a course and the spring AP exam. This format greatly increases the amount of class time for each AP course and the average AP score for Linn-Mar students has risen sharply since the inception of the modified block schedule.

Because most block teachers have three classes per quarter, they are working with 75 +/- students per grading period versus the 150+/- that a traditional teacher might work with at any given time. This allows for a very high level of personalization and enhances the teacher's ability to track progress and learning styles of individual students.

L-MHS offers an "Early Session" between 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 daily. This gives students unlimited access to the entire teaching staff (hard to find in most high schools because of co-curricular responsibilities) and gives students opportunities to make up work, quizzes, and projects. The "Early Session" opportunity helps to minimize the impact of missing a block class.

A student typically takes 35 credit hours per semester. This means that most students have a forty minute ("skinny") unscheduled time per day. 9th and 10th grade students are assigned to study hall during unscheduled time. 11th and 12th grade students have “Time Release” privileges that allow them to leave campus or work independently in the Cafeteria, Outdoor Commons , or Media Center .

[edit] New Renovations

On January 24, 2006, the voters in the Linn-Mar school district voted to adopt a $27.5 million bond to, in part, renovate, expand, and upgrade the technology of the high school. Changes

Expand and remodel the "4 corners" area
Convert band room into classrooms
Add Stephen J. Colton music wing
- New band/choir rooms
- Storage room for drama tech
- Soundproof practice booths
Convert "Gym C" into a cafe for upperclassmen
Remodel science rooms and labs
Remodel main office
Convert study hall into counseling office
Convert counseling office into nurse's office
New math area
Extend freshmen hallway
Remodel part of English hallway
Re-tar roof
Supply teachers with projecters
- Ceiling mounted for new classrooms
New laptops and laptop docks for all teachers

These renovations took place during the 2006-2007 school year and the following summer. These renovations disrupted classes with lound noises, smells, and fire alarms. The fire alarms sounding became commonplace. One notable alarm came in the middle of the performance of Beauty and the Beast, causing cast (in full constume) and crew to mill about in the North lot for around twenty minutes. The roof was retared during the summer.

The construction work was largely completed in time for the 2007-2008 school year.