From 1949 to 1962, students in grades 7-8 attended classes at Main Elementary. That building is currently known as the Learning Resource Center (LRC).

In 1963, a junior high school building was constructed in the middle of the campus, halfway between the high school and main elementary. It was constructed in a split-foyer style, with the main entrance, gym, and restrooms on the foyer level. The main office and five classrooms were on the upper level. Seven classrooms were on the lower level. Since the building was designed at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis of the Cold War, it included space for a fallout shelter in the event of a nuclear attack.

Students at the high school and junior high walked to lunch at Main Elementary.

An addition to the back of the building brought a bigger gym (now the high school’s auxiliary gym) and more classroom space.

A major expansion in the 1970s added a library (now used as high school classroom space) and a lunchroom (now the upper commons library).

The construction project physically joined the high school and junior high buildings. It also added additional junior high classrooms to the south side of what is now the present high school.

Ten years later, in the late 1980s, with enrollment growing rapidly, it was determined that another building would be needed.

In March 1993, voters approved an 8.5 million dollar bond issue and in the fall of 1995, the present Excelsior building opened as Linn-Mar Intermediate School. It housed students in grades 5 and 6.

For the 1999-2000 school year, following the completion of Westfield Elementary, all elementary schools housed kindergarten through 5th-grade students.

The Excelsior building then became Linn-Mar Middle School. A two-story classroom addition and cafeteria expansion were needed to house the district’s 1,005 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.

In 2001, a $17 million dollar bond issue was passed that allowed for the construction of Oak Ridge School.

Oak Ridge opened in 2003 and housed students in Kindergarten through 8th grade, while Excelsior continued as a 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade building.

At that time, the district’s middle school was renamed Excelsior.  It was named after one of the district’s original one-room schoolhouses.

In 2020 the district opened two additional new buildings, housing intermediate students in 5th and 6th Grade. At that time, Excelsior became a building for just the 7th and 8th Grades.

• 1963 – District’s first Junior High School was constructed. (Now the south wing of the High School)
• 1995 – Linn-Mar Intermediate School built (Now Excelsior Middle School)
• 1999 – Two story addition added
• 2003 – Linn-Mar Middle School becomes Excelsior Middle School, grades 6th -8th
• 2020  – Excelsior Middle School becomes a 7th and 8th grade building.

 

Today, Excelsior is home to more than 600 students, under the leadership of Principal John Christian.