Principal Adam Miller (left), Congressman Dave Loebsack (center), and Superintendent Jeff Dicks say good-bye to students as they leave school Wednesday. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) visited Washington and went on a tour of the recent addition at Stewart Elementary School Wednesday afternoon.

Washington Superintendent Jeff Dicks and principal Adam Miller, along with Washington Economic Development Group Director Ed Raber, led the tour. Loebsack shared why he feels it’s important to visit school districts in his congressional district, “Education that’s often said that it’s the great equalizer, and we have a lot of folks who really, really, everybody needs education, everybody has to have a good quality education. I think public education is really important. There are places for private education as well, obviously. Just to succeed, I mean I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had not gotten great public education up in Sioux City. So, for me just to come here, see what they’ve done, they’ve gotten some federal funds to do some great work with geothermal … or energy efficiency. And then also we passed federal legislation a couple years back, the Every Student Succeeds Act to take the No Child Left Behind Act’s place, and I want to do what I can to hear from them about the implementation of that, if they have any issues to talk to me about that.”

The group went through the new childcare center and preschool wing while discussing the school’s energy upgrades, demographics, and the district’s growing enrollment. They also visited the original portion of the school after the 520 students left for an early dismissal.