Hundreds say goodbye to Hills Elementary in emotional farewell Thursday

HILLS — Paraeducator Marcie Ciha, who worked one-on-one with students in need of individualized support at Hills Elementary School, said when she thinks of the school, she will remember how it gave the students there the “best experience” by meeting them at their ability level.

Hundreds of current and former teachers and staff, students and families packed the elementary school Thursday during a farewell celebration as the school permanently closes its doors in the community next month. The decision was made by the Iowa City school board earlier this year to save the district $1.66 million annually and preserve educational programs and staff as Iowa schools continue to face budget shortfalls.

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There were two students primarily under Ciha’s care when she was a paraeducator for almost two years at Hills Elementary between 2020-2022 who she will “forever remember.”

The little boy she worked with was non-verbal and “the funniest kid I’ve ever met,” Ciha said. “He was just a genuine, heartwarming soul.” The other student Ciha worked with is visually impaired and a “rock star” at navigating the school. “That girl does not let anything stop her, and she made my job extremely easy,” she said.

“To me, those two will always be what Hills is about — meeting people where they’re at, whether it’s cultural or language barriers or physical mobility issues and giving them the best experience,” Ciha said.

‘You don’t realize the impact you’ve had’

Hills Elementary is one of the most diverse schools in the Iowa City Community School District. About 36 percent of students at Hills are Hispanic or Latino and more than 13 percent are Black, according to U.S. News & World Report. About 70 percent of students at Hills are economically disadvantaged.

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During her time at Hills, Ciha also was a Spanish interpreter for families who didn’t speak English. She said the Latino families at Hills look out for each other.

“Because it’s a small school, everybody knows everybody, and I really loved being able to speak Spanish all day long to all these children and families,” Ciha said. “A lot of times the families don’t know how to navigate a school system. It’s a different culture, a different educational system, so I was able to put a lot of them at ease.”

Being back at Hills Thursday was “beautiful,” Ciha said. “It’s very hard not to break down in tears at every family that recognizes me. You don’t realize the impact you’ve had until you come back to a space like this.”

“I wish as a community that’s here now, we would have had more impact to be able to keep the school going or do whatever we needed to do to keep it going,” Ciha said. “It’s one of those rare jewels within the Iowa City School District. It’s like nothing else you’re gonna see because of the amount of culture and diversity we have in the school. It’s not like any other school.”

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Hills Elementary is the smallest elementary school in the district and has the highest cost per-student of schools in the district.

Most of the students at Hills Elementary are bused to the school from outside the small community of about 1,000 residents. Only about 45 students who attend Hills live in the town. Other students are bused to the school from areas north of Hills, the southern portion of Iowa City and unincorporated parts of Johnson County.

Students currently in the Hills Elementary attendance boundary will instead attend Alexander Elementary School, ​​3571 Sycamore St., Iowa City, this fall.

Hills alum remembers classmate

David Teigland traveled from Minneapolis, Minn., where he now lives, to attend the Hills farewell Thursday. He was a student at Hills from 1979 to 1986, he said.

“It’s the last chance to see it. I have a lot of formative memories from this place. I don’t know that I’ve set foot in here in a long time,” Teigland said.

Teigland sat down to dinner — provided by the Johnson County Pork Producers and Hills Parent Teacher Organization — in the Hills Elementary cafeteria with parents of a former classmate and good friend Kevin Smith, who has since died.

Teigland and Kevin’s parents — Jim and Carolyn Smith — reminisced about the good times at Hills Elementary: Grandparents’ Day, spelling bees and the Fun Nights, an annual school carnival that Jim said was “crazy loud.”

“I couldn’t hear for another 24 hours after,” he said.

Teigland talked about the spelling bee. “It was always Kevin and me who were the best spellers in the class, but I never won. I think I got stage fright.”

He said he and Kevin “did everything together,” including riding the bus for “hours on end to get to school,” Teigland said.

The school has “never really gotten its fair shake,” Teigland said. “The way it’s ending, it deserves more credit. It’s been very important to a lot of people,” he said.

“My second grade teacher was from Australia. Our library specialist who became a teacher was from India. These were my first experiences I had with people from all over the world, which you wouldn’t think would happen in a place like this,” Teigland said.

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Nationally-recognized innovator Dasia Taylor Hills alumni

Dasia Taylor, a nationally-recognized innovator who graduated from Iowa City West High School in 2021, recalls fondly her time as a sixth-grader at Hills Elementary, her first year in the Iowa City Community School District.

Taylor, 20, who is now a student at the University of Iowa, got national recognition while still in high school for creating surgical sutures that change color if a wound is infected. She envisioned the sutures being used in developing countries where they could save lives and money. Infections could be treated early with antibiotics instead of surgery.

Taylor said a Hills fourth grade teacher — who she kept in touch with — gave her her first “Rebel Girls” book for her 16th birthday. The book features remarkable women throughout history.

After her scientific discovery, Taylor was herself featured in the Rebel Girls series in 2022 in a book called “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women.”

“I got to return the favor by gifting that teacher and her whole class signed copies of the new Rebel Girls book that I was in. It’s the coolest thing I’ve done with my fame and notoriety,” Taylor said.

Taylor — who has been on the Ellen DeGeneres show — said whenever national media ask to interview her, she brings them to Hills Elementary School. “It’s really sad I won’t get to do that anymore.”

As a sixth-grader at Hills, Taylor said the class read “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park. The class was so inspired, they sold lemonade and other treats for the rest of the school year to raise money to build a well in Africa, Taylor said.

“That’s a really dope experience to have at such an early age,” she said.

Ruth Dane, who student taught at Hills in 1992, remembers the school being “one big happy family.” Dane went on to teach at Twain and Lemme elementary schools in the Iowa City school district, but “never felt as much camaraderie” as she did student teaching at Hills, she said.

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