Editing Thornton, Iowa (section)

==Education==
Thornton is part of the [[West Fork Community School District]], formed in 2011 by the merger of the [[Sheffield–Chapin–Meservey–Thornton Community School District|Sheffield–Chapin–Meservey–Thornton (SCMT) Community School District]] and the [[Rockwell–Swaledale Community School District]].<ref name=SDmerger>"[https://www.educateiowa.gov/sites/files/ed/documents/District%20Reorganization%20History%20final.pdf REORGANIZATION & DISSOLUTION ACTIONS SINCE 1965-66]." [[Iowa Department of Education]]. Retrieved on January 13, 2019.</ref> Thornton became a part of the West Fork Schools whole grade-sharing partnership as of the 2008–09 school year, prior to the formal district merger.<ref>{{cite news|author=Nicklay, Deb|url=https://globegazette.com/news/local/rs-scmt-merger-advances/article_8c3574a0-58b8-11df-9682-001cc4c002e0.html|title=RS-SCMT merger advances|newspaper=[[Globe Gazette]]|date=2010-05-05|access-date=2019-01-13|quote=The two districts, which operate under the name West Fork, have been whole-grade sharing partners for two years.}}</ref> SCMT was formed in 2007 by the merger of the [[Meservey–Thornton Community School District]] and the [[Sheffield–Chapin Community School District]].<ref name=SDmerger/> Meservey–Thornton, in turn, formed in 1963 from the merger of the Thornton Community School District and the Meservey Community School District.<ref name=Westforkhist>{{cite web|url=https://www.westforkschool.org/district-history|title=District History|publisher=[[West Fork Community School District]]|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref>

Thornton Public Library serves the community.<ref>"[http://thornton-iowa.com/city_organizations.php?id=3 Thornton Public Library]." City of Thornton. Retrieved on January 14, 2019.</ref>

===Thornton School===
The school building served the community until 2007.<ref name=Thorntonschooldemoed/> The mascot for secondary athletic teams was the Lancers.<ref name=Thorntoncityhist>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20131207050136/http://www.thornton-iowa.com/history.php Community History]." City of Thornton. December 7, 2013. Retrieved on January 14, 2019.</ref>

There was a prior school building that was destroyed in a fire. The new building opened in 1936 and received extra classrooms, office space, a gymnasium, and a library in a 1955 addition. The building initially served Thornton and its associated school district only, but after it merged into Meservey–Thornton in 1963 it began serving the consolidated district's senior high school students. Junior high school students were later moved to the building.<ref name=Thorntonschooldemoed>{{cite news|url=https://globegazette.com/news/local/thornton-school-being-demolished/article_87e4f88a-890d-11e1-b710-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Thornton School being demolished |newspaper=[[Globe Gazette]]|date=2012-04-17|access-date=2019-01-13}}</ref> The Meservey School closed in 1983,<ref name=Westforkhist/> making the Thornton School K–12. High school students were moved<!--Based on source sentence "Later, the Meservey-Thornton School District entered a whole-grade sharing agreement with the Sheffield-Chapin school district, and the building was used as an elementary and middle school."--> out of the building as a result of the grade-sharing agreement between Meservey–Thornton and Sheffield–Chapin.<ref name=Thorntonschooldemoed/> At that point the Lancers mascot was now only used at the middle school level.<ref name=Thorntoncityhist/>

Due to declining enrollment, the former S-C, M-T, and neighboring Rockwell–Swaledale school districts entered a whole-grade sharing agreement to become the West Fork school system in 2008, with the "Warhawks" as the new mascot.  The Thornton building closed after the 2007–08 season after 72 years of service, and all students now attend Sheffield and Rockwell. Each remaining school will have K–3, Rockwell will house 4–8 and Sheffield 9–12. The school districts formally merged in 2011. On July 5, 2008, an all-school reunion was held to commemorate the closing of the Thornton School.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

In 2007 the Lancers mascot was discontinued. The Thornton residents held a celebratory farewell parade at that time.<ref name=Thorntoncityhist/> The school closed that in July 2008. The Thornton school was demolished in 2012 by the [[Dumont, Iowa|Dumont]] company Peterson Backhoe; the SCMT district chose demolition after a tentative agreement for another party to buy the building fell through in 2009.<ref name=Thorntonschooldemoed/>