Grace Luther’s love of art started in middle school. “That’s when I noticed myself drawing on any scrap of paper,” she said. She wanted to help other middle school students discover their own passion for…

Rachel Boyd expects her elementary art students will change a lot over the school year, physically, mentally and emotionally. By next spring, their technical skills will have improved. More importantly, they won’t view themselves the…

Iola High School welcomes a record number of international students this year. Five students — three from Italy, one from Spain and one from Germany — have arrived in Iola as part of a study…

Henrik Sieh, Germany Henrik Sieh, who lives in a small town in Germany, wants to learn how to play American football. He watched the Kansas City Chiefs play in the Super Bowl in February, although…

Gaia Figus, who lives in Italy on a small Mediterranean island, relies on Google Translate to help her communicate with her host family, the Millers.  She types a question into her phone, which translates it…

Veronica Agostini, who is from Italy, surprised her parents with a request to study abroad. They were a little hesitant to allow her to travel to another country to live with strangers for a year,…

Finding a place to play soccer helped Riccardo Barbarossa, a student from Italy, feel at home in Iola.  Fortunately, he didn’t need to go any farther than the spacious yard outside the home of his…

Lucia Perez, who lives in Spain, has dreamed of traveling to the U.S. to study since she was 12. She studied English for years to prepare for her trip. “I want to learn a new…

Matt Baumwart didn’t just trade middle school for high school this year, in his transition to become IHS assistant principal and athletic director. He also traded handshakes for temperature checks. Each morning, Baumwart greets students…

Jason Coke, Iola Middle School’s new assistant principal and athletic director, worked at an afterschool program for Crawford County Mental Health while in college. It turned out to be a life-changing experience. It’s not only…