First day of school brings magnet school to Cedar Rapids, new elementary to Iowa City

IOWA CITY - As most Corridor students headed back to school Monday for the first day of the academic year, Cedar Rapids showcased a new magnet school and Iowa City unveiled a new elementary school.

At Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids, which was converted this summer to a magnet school, officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Cedar Rapids Community School District Superintendent Brad Buck and Mayor Ron Corbett.

The magnet school process allows families who do not live within the elementary school's attendance boundaries to send their children there anyway if they are chosen through a lottery. The school, previously known as Johnson School of the Arts, once received funding as an arts-focused school but was never designated a magnet school by the district, said spokeswoman Marcia Hughes.

About 375 students attend the school this year, including about 40 chosen through the lottery, said Cassidy Reinken, the district's magnet school coordinator. To help make room, Johnson no longer houses a preschool program.

The magnet school, 355 18th St. SE, focuses on science, technology, engineering, the arts and math - or STEAM.

The school's focus on science and math, flexibility in instruction and strong administration made it attractive for Jennifer Borcherding, a parent whose sons were chosen through the lottery and now attend Johnson in second and fourth grades.

Borcherding's children excel in science and math, she said. Transportation to and from Johnson is 'fantastic” so far, Borcherding said - a school bus picks up and drops off her children at Xavier High School, near the family's home, on the way to or from Johnson.

The magnet school can help get more students interested in engineering careers, said Allen Witt, the Cedar Rapids school board's vice president and a Kirkwood Community College instructor in architecture, construction and engineering.

'There's two people retiring for every one new engineer,” Witt said. 'We've got to catch up.”

The school also could help encourage students who don't have a role model, said Ann Rosenthal, a school board member and associate director of plant management with the University of Iowa. There were only two women among her 50-person mechanical engineering class in college, she said.

If she attended a school like Johnson growing up, Rosenthal said, 'I think I wouldn't have felt so alone.”

IOWA CITY OPENS NEW ELEMENTARY

At the new Alexander Elementary School in Iowa City, where construction was in its final stages this summer, staff and students wore yellow T-shirts featuring the school's logo.

Alexander, 3571 Sycamore St., the newest school in the growing Iowa City Community School District, started school after a condensed effort by staff to get classrooms and supplies ready. Teachers were first able to move in on Aug. 8, said Chris Gibson, the principal.

Preparation came 'down to the wire,” said Lori Kasparek, an Alexander first-grade teacher. Staff members and a volunteer were still unboxing books Monday in the school's library.

But the first day was going well, Kasparek said, and students and staff were excited.

Connor Mason, a first-grader at Alexander who previously attended Longfellow Elementary, was looking forward to a different part of school.

'My favorite part is outside,” Connor, 6, said. 'And then kind of the art room. I might like lunch the best.”

The first day at Alexander wasn't without incident. A student, a parent and a teacher were injured Monday when a rod separating two doors fell, striking them, said Iowa City Community School District spokesman Chace Ramey.

A school nurse provided initial treatment for the student and parent, and they left the school on their own, Ramey said. The teacher also did not require an ambulance, he said.

Classes also started Monday in the College Community, Linn-Mar and Solon districts. Students in the Marion Independent School District will begin Tuesday. The Clear Creek Amana Community School District starts Sept. 1.

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