Cedar Rapids schools partner with community organizations to help kids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids school district is hoping the partnerships it has with 67 community organizations will help students this summer with learning loss and with mental health challenges.

The district, for the first time, will track how the partnerships help students and what other help might be needed.

Stephanie Neff, community partnerships supervisor, said the district particularly seeks to “leverage the expertise of community organizations” in mental health and equity areas.

“We can use data to target very specific needs we have districtwide and can leverage community resources,” Neff said.

The 67 organizations registered with the district served 1,532 students — 9.4 percent of the district’s enrollment — in the 2021-22 school year. The partnerships cost $372 per student.

The funding came from varied sources, including funds for students at-risk of academic failure or in danger of dropping out. Funding also came from the federal Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Funds provided during the pandemic.

The district formalized its community partnership process in 2017 because building principals were being inundated with requests to offer services to students, Neff said. In 2018, the district began aligning proposals with student needs.

Partners include sponsors, donors, volunteers and strategic, collaborative partners in two categories: equity partners and mental health partners.

Of the students served by equity partners, 41 percent are Black, 7 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 37 percent are white and 13 percent fall in two or more categories, including Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaskan.

“This is what we expect is there are fewer white students in these programs specifically targeting non-white students,” Neff said.

Of the students served by mental health partners, 59 percent are white, 17 percent are Black, 10 percent are Hispanic or Latino and 13 percent fall under two or more categories.

The number of students with Individualized Education Plans being served by mental health partners is significant, “which tells us there’s a huge mental health component in academic achievement,” Neff said.

“That’s not information we didn’t already know, but it shows up in this data and allows us to make decisions based on that,” she said.

Among the district’s community partners are:

Organizations interested in partnering with the district can apply at cr.k12.ia.us.

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