Waterloo, IA: "Level of student complexity in. . . elementary schools has grown"

Oct 9, 2026, The Courier: Waterloo Schools serving more students with complex needs

WATERLOO — Waterloo Community Schools is giving extra tender loving care to its students with complex needs with the opening of the Thrive Learning Center.

The former Kittrell Annex Building at 1755 W. 11th St. has been repurposed into space for special needs programs. The school opened at the beginning of the school year, and there are currently nine students from pre-K to 5th grade. At full capacity, the school could hold 15 to 20 students.

“It’s sometimes difficult to celebrate special education, so I’m just really happy that Waterloo is not only investing in special education, but just like, really celebrating it,” Katie King, the center’s on-site supervisor, said at a ribbon cutting Wednesday. “I think there are some districts that hide programs like that, but that’s not our goal. Like, we are proud of it, and we’re proud of the work that we do.”

The name Thrive Learning Center was chosen because it didn’t sound clinical or “scary” for families, and it just happens to shorten to TLC.

Megan Allen, the district’s director of special education and preschool, said in the past few years there have been more children needing individualized education plans, or IEPs. In 2025, 18.2% of Waterloo’s students required IEPs, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

 “The level of student complexity in, particularly, our elementary schools has grown and evolved in ways that have surpassed what we can do in our traditional elementary buildings,” Allen said. “We need to respond, and we had to create Thrive with existing resources, meaning we couldn’t purchase a new facility.”

The district found it was struggling most with teaching children with significant cognitive delays who also had behavioral issues or were nonverbal. Children with these needs would usually transfer to River Hills School in Cedar Falls or the Lied Center in Waverly and likely never re-enroll in Waterloo Schools.

The Thrive Learning Center has three different classes: a preschool classroom, a K-5 classroom for children with learning disabilities and a K-5 classroom for children with behavioral needs. Classes are similar to the structure of traditional schools, with children having a full day of school, lunch and activities like gym, art and music. There is also a sensory room and a de-escalation room.

Keelan Morrevilla, a behavioral support specialist, said traditional schools do not have a designated area for children to de-escalate. They are usually taken out into a hallway to deal with the disruption.

“Here we’re able to bring it to a halt faster … and they have a shorter time where they’re in crisis,” he said. “I think that their educational needs are being met in a better way, because when something does happen, it all goes back to how fast we can react.” . .

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Hannah Jones teaches three 4 year olds in her pre-K classroom that have the development ability of children ages 18 to 24 months. Like the district’s other preschools, the classroom is play-based and the children learn how to parallel play and do things independently like washing their hands. . . .