HOOVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HOOVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Hoover, an elementary school located on St. Anne Drive, was named in honor of Herbert Hoover, first President of the United States born west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER (West Branch, Iowa). At its dedication ceremony on November 17, 1968, a set of books and a bust of Herbert Hoover were donated to the school by the Hoover family; Hoover Foundation on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University; and the Hoover Foundation in West Branch, Iowa.

The school was noted at the time for its innovative design. Classrooms were located in two octagonal-shaped clusters around learning centers. There were no doors between the learning center and the rooms. Few permanent walls separated the individual classrooms at either the primary or intermediate levels.

In 1968 Hoover School became Iowa's first elementary school to use the innovative Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) program published by Rand McNally and eventually the basis of the district's science program. In 1973 the building was the first in the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT to pilot a program for the talented and gifted. The school's unique physical design and its programming led it to be featured in articles appearing in educational magazines. (1) In 2013 Hoover and EISENHOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL piloted the use of standalone air conditioning units in classrooms. Designed for, but constructed without air conditioning in the 1960s, the buildings for years relied on open doors to the playground and fans for cooling. (2)

For being one of the smaller buildings in the district, Hoover provided a disproportionate number of presidents of the DUBUQUE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION including Barbara K. SMELTZER, Randolph W. LYON, Susan McCord, and Peggy Becker.

On February 10, 2025 by a unanimous vote by the board of education, Hoover School was to be closed at the end of the present academic year. A school which once served one of the most rapidly growing residential areas in Dubuque, Hoover found itself over the years declining in student population. By 2025 it was determined that the district could save $1 million by closing the school. Students would be assigned to other elementary schools as school boundaries were redrawn. Staff would be able to apply for other teaching positions in the spring. The future of the building was not determined.

At no cost, officials of the Dubuque non-profit St. Mark Youth Enrichment and the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT announced that the vacated building would be the scene of after-school programming for the 2025-2026 school year. The after-school program including literacy instruction, physical activities, free play and an evening meal for kindergarten through fifty grade students at Lincoln, Marshall, and Audubon elementary school has since 2023 been held at the BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB OF GREATER DUBUQUE.

Transportation for the students from their schools to the new site would be arranged with the Regional Transit Authority and Trolleys of Dubuque.

The school district will be utilizing Hoover for traditional third and fourth grade for students from Irving. This will occur as Irving's HVAC system is replaced with air conditioning to the entire building. The Irving program and the St. Mark programs were not to overlap. (3)

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Source:

1. Lyon, Randolph W., Teacher in fourth, fifth and sixth grades at Hoover for a total of thirty-eight years

2. Becker, Stacey, "Local Schools Find Tools to Stay Cool," Telegraph Herald, August 27 2013, p. 1A

3. Kelsey, Elizabeth, Dubuque Nonprofit to Hold After-School Programming at Hoover Site," Telegraph Herald, Online: https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=HOOVER_ELEMENTARY_SCHOOL&action=edit, May 2, 2025