Two more charter schools plan to open in Cedar Rapids next year

CEDAR RAPIDS — A fourth charter school — called Horizon Science Academy — is seeking approval from the Iowa State Board of Education next month to open in Cedar Rapids.

If approved, Horizon plans to open August 2026 to about 140 K-5th graders in the Northwest Neighborhood. The school will grow by one grade level each year, eventually offering K-12 programming.

Mike Huguelet, executive director of the Iowa Coalition for Public Charter Schools, said Horizon will be one of six charter schools applying to be considered by the State Board of Education next month.

Over the last three years, charter schools have been “clustered” around Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Huguelet said.

“This class is much more diverse in its geographic location. It’s statewide,” Huguelet said of the applicants that will be considered next month.

Charter school applications for 2026 will be posted as a part of board materials when they are presented to the State Board of Education for consideration during its meeting Jan. 15, 2026, said Heather Doe, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Education. Meetings are open to the public.

Charter schools are tuition-free schools that are publicly funded, but independently run under an approved charter with the state. In Iowa, charter schools receive per-pupil aid from the state, just like public schools.

In Iowa, charter schools operate with a governing board that is not democratically elected — unlike traditional public schools — under a five year charter granted by the Iowa State Board of Education. A charter school must attract students and produce positive results within five years or risk losing its charter.

What is Horizon Science Academy?

Class sizes at Horizon will be no more than 25 students, and no more than 20 students in kindergarten, said Chris Murphy, chief growth and strategy officer for Concept Schools, a nonprofit charter school management company.

Murphy presented on the proposed school to about a dozen people Tuesday evening at Cedar Rapids Prep — another charter school that opened to students in August — as a part of the charter application process in Iowa.

The school will focus on science, technology, engineering and math. If the school is approved, enrollment will be on a first-come, first served basis. If more students apply than there are seats available, they will be entered into a lottery for a chance to attend Horizon, Murphy said.

Murphy said they plan to post an opening for Horizon Cedar Rapids’ building principal this month. Teaching and staff positions will be posted in January.

Concept Schools already manages two other Horizon Science Academies in Iowa — one in Des Moines and one in Davenport — and more than 16,000 students in 41 K-12 campuses across the U.S.

Murphy said students enrolled in a Concept school — like Horizon — grow an average of 1.2 academic years for every year of attendance, according to their data. Concept schools have a graduation rate of more than 95 percent.

Across all of Concept’s campuses, 91 percent of students are from low-income families, 25 percent are multilingual and almost 10 percent receive special education services, according to their five-year strategic plan published last year.

CIVICA plans to open August 2026 in Cedar Rapids

There are 10 charter schools operating in Iowa and six more approved to open in 2026, including CIVICA in Cedar Rapids.

The proposed K-5 school initially planned to open this past August. Frankie Mestre, service and support coordinator with Academica, said the school’s decision to defer a year was “guided by our commitment to launch in a way that is sustainable, high-quality and fully prepared for students and families.”

Academica is a for-profit charter school education services provider based in Miami and operates more than 200 schools.

“Securing the right facility was one important consideration, along with ensuring we have the staffing, systems and supports necessary to deliver on our mission from day one,” Mestre said.

CIVICA Career and Collegiate Academy plans to open to 125 students in grades K-2 at Radiant Church, 3233 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids. The school plans to grow one grade level a year, ultimately offering a full K-5 program.

“Radiant Church will serve as our initial home for the 2026-27 school year,” Mestre said. “Our priority right now is ensuring the space fully meets the needs of our students and families. Like many new charter schools, we are approaching facilities with a long-term vision and will continue to evaluate what best supports our growth and the community over time.”

CIVICA is one of 11 charter schools in Iowa that received awards last year of up to $500,000 that can be used to secure school facilities and transportation options, curriculum, technology needs and equipment.

A total of nearly $4 million was awarded to charter schools through the Iowa Charter Start-Up and Expansion Grant program funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal pandemic relief program.

Empowering Excellence Charter School — which opened in Cedar Rapids in August 2024 — also received the grant.

Are there enough students to fill charter school seats?

Huguelet said part of his job is to ensure charter schools are successful in finding students where they propose to open. In Cedar Rapids, the two existing charter schools — Cedar Rapids Prep and Empowering Excellence — are at capacity, he said.

“That’s one sign that OK, this city could stand to add a new school. They’ve filled everything they have,” Huguelet said.

Huguelet said the goal of charter schools is not to replace the traditional school system. “It’s to offer supplemental options that the community wants and will use,” he said. “If you look at it from that perspective, adding one K-12 school — it’s not a huge impact.”

The Cedar Rapids Community School District is facing a decline of 622 students this year. Last year, enrollment in the district declined by more than 300 students, with 103 of those students choosing a charter school.

The Cedar Rapids district’s total enrollment is 13,945 students.

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“I’m not concerned about the impact it has on the traditional system,” Huguelet said. “I view the charter system as part of the public school system. Because charter schools are new, there’s a false narrative that it has a negative impact on the public school system. If you’re in LA, Chicago, places that have hundreds of charter schools, that’s just part of the system.”

Huguelet said many students need a smaller learning environment that charter schools can offer to “thrive.” Empowering Excellence, for example, is “intentionally trying to enroll the students that left the public school system,” Huguelet said.

Huguelet said in other states, the rise of charter schools is a “catalyst” to improving traditional public schools as they work to compete for students by offering innovative programming and work to improve student achievement.

People need to “start focusing on the kids and not the dollars” and public schools need to better allocate funds, he said.

“In mature public education markets across the country, schools collaborate because they have to,” Huguelet said.

According to the National Education Association, charter schools financially impact public school finances. When a student moves to a charter school, the funding follows the child. However, the cost of operating the student’s former school is virtually unchanged. The school can’t downsize a teacher or sell a school bus to make up for lost revenue.

Instead, traditional public schools are forced to cut programming such as arts, sports and after school activities, according to the Association.

Charter schools are unstable, according to the Association, and have a closure rate of one in four schools after five years, with that rate doubling at year 20. The Association states that neither charter schools nor traditional public schools can claim to be more successful at raising student achievement.

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