Parent, VA program manager joins Cedar Rapids school board race

CEDAR RAPIDS - Kristin Janssen, a parent of three who has been active in parent teacher organizations, is running for an at-large seat on the Cedar Rapids school board, she said Tuesday.

Janssen, 47, said she has been involved in parent teacher and sports organizations in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Two of her sons will attend Washington High School this year, she said, and the third graduated this past year.

The district should focus more on classes for students who are not academically gifted, Janssen said.

'I would like to see some equity - while not diminishing the focus on (Advanced Placement classes), having some additional focus placed on non-AP classes,” she said.

Cedar Rapids middle schools also could improve their preparation of students for AP courses, Janssen said. And the district could partner with local tradesmen to offer more hands-on lessons for students, she said.

As it adjusts to a student population that has become more economically diverse in the last several years, Janssen said the district should look to other cities as examples, pointing to a district outside Detroit where she formerly lived.

'There are other urban communities that we can look to for how they approached this kind of diversity,” she said. 'Why reinvent the wheel?”

Janssen said she was not yet familiar enough with the district's finances or facilities to comment on them. She said she plans to talk to current and former board members about serving on the board.

Janssen works remotely as a program manager and project specialist for the Washington, D.C.-based Veterans Health Administration, she said.