Cedar Rapids schools’ new model keeps students together from kindergarten to high school

CEDAR RAPIDS — Three new chiefs of Cedar Rapids schools are helping principals “grow as leaders” and hoping for better student outcomes under a new feeder school model implemented in the district this year.

The chiefs each oversee one of three “areas” that include elementary schools, middle schools and high schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Under the model, students in elementary school will continue to the same middle school and eventually to the same high school as their classmates — creating a more cohesive learning experience, educators say.

“We love the fact that kids are going to be going to school together with their peers and take that educational journey together. It’s very comforting and going to make them feel like they belong,” said Comfort Akwaji-Anderson, who oversees Area 1.

Under this model, students will be going to school together “for a long period of time,” Akwaji-Anderson said. This can help educators better monitor the progress of each class and “deeply understand” their strengths, see what challenges the students face and find ways to address them, she said.

“We’re going to get to know these students really well as they go on that journey and be able to use resources to better support them,” Akwaji-Anderson said.

Akwaji-Anderson comes to the district from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, where she managed, coached and mentored a team of 56 faculty members and administrators in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the acclaimed 10-12 grade school. She also has experience in the K-12 school system in teaching and administrative positions.

Under the feeder school model, Akwaji-Anderson — and the two other chiefs — will provide mentoring to principals in each of the buildings they oversee, strengthening the educational system overall, she said.

The other chiefs are Mark Timmerman, who oversees Area 2 and previously was an elementary principal in the Indianola Community School District, and Linda Reysack in Area 3, who was principal of Harding Middle School in Cedar Rapids for over a decade.

Timmerman said the chiefs — who began their role July 1 — have a job to “coach leaders.” He is an “accountability partner” with principals, asking them about the challenges they face, coming up with steps to address them and monitoring results.

“We’re empowering them to grow as instructional leaders. We think that is pretty cool,” Akwaji-Anderson said.

Timmerman said the feeder school system will help educators better plan what resources will be needed in each school building as students go through the system. For example, if one elementary school has a high number of students learning English as a second language, educators will be able to put the right supports in place for those students when they enter middle school together, he said.

Reysack said in the past, Cedar Rapids students who went to one elementary school might have to “leave their peers” for a different middle school. The feeder system will make it clear from when students enter kindergarten “if you’re going to be a J-Hawk, a Cougar or a Warrior” — each of the high school’s mascots, she said.

The chiefs of schools replaced executive directors of elementary, middle and high school education. Akwaji-Anderson’s salary is $155,000, Timmerman’s salary is $149,014 and Reysack’s salary is $155,000, according to board documents.

Area 1 includes Washington High School, Franklin seventh and eighth grade center, McKinley Sixth Grade Academy, and Trailside, Erskine, Wright and Grant elementary schools and Johnson STEAM Academy.

Area 2 includes Jefferson High School, Taft Middle School, Cleveland, West Willow and Maple Grove elementary schools and Hoover Community School. Also included is the Truman Early Learning Center preschool program.

Area 3 includes Kennedy High School, a new middle school at a new site on the northwest side and Harrison, Hiawatha, Viola Gibson and Pierce elementary schools. Also included are City View High School, Metro High School and Polk Alternative.

Why feeder systems?

Stephen Murley, clinical instructor for the College of Education at the University of Iowa, said feeder systems help focus academically without being distracted “by the social noise of trying to find new friends” as they transition from elementary to middle to high school.

It’s a “comfort factor” for students — and parents — and can lead to improved behavior in the classroom, said Murley, who previously served as superintendent of the Iowa City Community School District.

“They already know each other and have learned to socialize and work well together in the learning environment,” he said.

Parents also continue to be more active in school when their children remain in school with the same families they started with in elementary school, Murley said.

One of the drawbacks, however, is that students who haven’t acclimated well in school don’t get as much of an opportunity to “restart” in a new school, Murley said.

Students can struggle significantly at the “transition points” between elementary to middle school and middle to high school, Murley said. The feeder system is an attempt to mitigate that and “create community,” he said.

Having area leaders over a high school, middle and elementary schools can help create “vertical integration” as students progress to each grade level, Murley said.

Timmerman said when he visits schools, he sees “students in classrooms with teachers who know what they’re doing.”

“Now it’s our job to make sure the academic office is providing the right support to the principal, so they can support their teachers, evaluate them effectively and make sure the right things are happening in those classrooms,” Timmerman said.

Replacing executive directors

Eric Christensen was the former executive director of elementary education for the district, overseeing 20 schools. He retired from the district over the summer after he was named the next executive director of the Zach Johnson Foundation.

The executive director of high school education was Cynthia Phillips, who left to become superintendent of the Independence School District. She oversaw four schools. And former executive director of middle schools Adam Zimmermann — who oversaw six schools — is now the executive director of innovation for the district.

Under the new area schools model, each chief oversees about eight schools. “We can truly spend time in the buildings, meet the principals and help them do the work of school improvement,” Reysack said. “The intent is to drive educational excellence.”

Each chiefs of schools has a dedicated equity coach, school improvement coach, teacher leader coach, director of special education and student services specialist.

More cohesive feeder systems

A facilities master plan would consolidate the district’s school facilities, creating a more comprehensive feeder school system.

“As we think about the future, we need to think about the buildings themselves,” Akwaji-Anderson said.

The district is several years into a plan to consolidate some of its elementary schools. New elementary schools are expected to reduce operational costs for the district and address uneven distribution of resources.

The work is being funded by SAVE — Secure an Advanced Vision for Education — an existing statewide sales tax allocated to school districts based on certified enrollment. Each new elementary school will serve between 500 to 600 students. Right now, elementary schools vary in student population, serving between 200 to 500 students.

A $220 million bond referendum going to voters in the district Tuesday would fund improvements to the district’s middle and high schools, if approved.

Projects under the plan that would be funded by the referendum include a new sixth-eighth grade middle school building at an unannounced location to be acquired; new career and technical education additions and new turf fields at three high schools; renovations to Kennedy High’s cafeteria and kitchen; upgrades to the Metro High gym; and renovations to Franklin Middle.

If the bond is approved by voters, the Cedar Rapids schools property tax rate would increase from $14.67 to $17.37 per $1,000 of taxable value. For an owner with a home assessed at $200,000, the bill based on the taxable value of that home — about 54.7 percent of its assessed value — would be about $$282.02 a year, or $23.50 a month.

In Iowa, school bond issues — basically, loans that schools take out — require a supermajority of 60 percent of voters approval to pass. In passing bond issues, voters in the district agree to repay the loan, with interest, through their property taxes. A second $225 million general obligation bond is proposed to be taken to voters in 2029 to complete projects under the district’s facilities master plan.

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