With a combined 169 years of experience, six Mid-Prairie teachers will pack up their pencils and say goodbye. The Mid-Prairie school board approved the early retirement of Special Education teacher and coach Eric Thornton, Assistant Program Director of the Home School Education Center Rose Schrock, Bus Driver and Paraprofessional Cindy Duwa, physical education teacher and assistant athletic director Chris Kern, middle school science and 6th grade teacher Sarah Aldrich-Reitz, and 6th grade teacher Kym Kral.. Each retiree received a plaque during the latest school board meeting to commemorate their years of service to the Mid-Prairie School District. Superintendent Mark Schneider shared an emotional word with Thronton about how he helped his son find a job, “and then third, and this is going to be difficult, what you did for my son, Eric. I can never repay you for. You are the reason he has his job now. After high school you helped us. We got him into a program and he was connected with that program and he tried some things out. We knew what his passion was, and the people in the program didn’t think he was going to be able to do that. And you, went out of your way, with the connections you had, and you spoke to people at the North Liberty Library. And you made that happen.” The teachers will continue to teach until the end of this school year.