Polk, Taylor students begin new school year

It was a typical first day of school at Taylor Elementary School today – exactly what the families and staff wanted.

“It's business as usual,” Principal Brian Christoffersen said.

After two years where life at Taylor was anything but usual, those words are a comfort to the nearly 300 students who make up Taylor's student body. Some entered the building with enthusiasm, shouting out classmates' names while their parents waves good-bye. Others were more subdued, not yet ready to bid summer good-bye.

“I liked it when we started in August,” fifth-grader Emilee Barger, 10, said.

The Cedar Rapids school district has two year-round elementary schools – Polk  and Taylor. Both schools opened for the 2010-11 school year today – the first time since the 2007-08 school year they were able to do so.

Taylor took on more than 3 feet of water in the June 2008 flood, forcing the district to close the school's doors for the 2008-09 school year. Polk operated on a traditional school calendar that same year.

Polk resumed its year-round status in 2009-10 while Taylor opened its doors in August. District administrators put Taylor on the traditional school calendar last year to buy more time for the building's renovations.

Families who entered the school last August were happy to do so again today, knowing that Taylor is exactly how it should be.

“They first started the year-round schedule when I went here,” Ashley Jandl said.

Jandl's son, Noah Thomson, is a kindergartner this year.

“I'm more nervous than he is,” Jandl said.

Supporters of a the year-round schedule cite consistent academic achievement as a benefit. Studies also point to improved attendance and fewer discipline issues.

“I always liked the year-round concept because there's less brain drain,” Gail Barger, Emilee's grandmother, said.

There's also a closeness that happens when students don't go months without seeing their teachers.

“We know everybody, everybody knows us,” said Sara Messier, the mother of two Taylor students - fifth-grader Nick and third-grader Ana.

“When everybody knows who you are, you feel a lot better about having your kids here,” Jacob Messier added.

“It's like a family,” Gail Barger said.