Community speakers urge action after Coralville Central teacher assaulted; district outlines data review and supports

At the Sept. 23 meeting of the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors, more than a dozen community members urged the district to investigate and respond after a Coralville Central first‑grade teacher, Aspen Lohman, said she left the classroom after repeated assaults. The board heard personal accounts from colleagues, family members and former principals and received a district presentation describing ongoing efforts to review discipline data, expand staff supports and refine special‑education and threat‑assessment processes.

Speakers called for immediate, independent review and stronger measures to protect staff. “I began to fear for my life,” a statement from Aspen Lohman read aloud by Danella Van Tassel said, describing assaults and ongoing medical and mental‑health effects that Lohman attributed to incidents last school year. Her family members and former colleagues told the board that the district’s response felt inadequate and demanded changes to keep teachers safe.

The district’s leadership framed those personal accounts as the rationale for a coordinated review of data and…