K-12 Education

Thursday was the deadline to be on the Nov. 4 ballot

A $7 million school bond referendum that would fund a new secure entrance to the elementary school and classroom renovations and repairs is headed to voters in the Central City Community School District Nov. 4.

Iowa Republican leaders and school officials are condemning reports that a teacher celebrated the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, calling the alleged remarks “reprehensible” and demanding swift accountability.

Some Head Start programs in Iowa that provide child care and early learning that “serves Iowa’s most vulnerable families” at no cost, have reduced operations — with a few even closing classrooms — because of compounding funding challenges.

Engagement surveys given to new Cedar Rapids school district teachers and “milestone” teachers who have been with the district for five, 10, 15, and 20 years or more, highlighted two areas of concern for staff: student behavior and input in decision-making at the building and district level.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, the gender gap between boys and girls in STEM classes nearly closed. But within a few years, girls lost all the ground they had gained in math test scores, according to an Associated Press analysis.

The Cedar Rapids school board Monday approved a resolution ordering an election on a $117 million bond proposal after receiving 6,199 signatures from voters in the district, verified by board secretary Jillian Schulte.

Iowa students are beginning their second school year under a new Iowa law that defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10 percent of days in a grading period. During the first year of the law, the majority of charges for truancy were dismissed in Linn and Johnson counties as families made an effort to improve their child’s school attendance.

Linn-Mar’s plan to invest almost $55 million into an indoor activities center is just the latest in a trend of Iowa schools creating modern facilities to expand opportunities for students.

The first 10th graders to attend Washington High School in 1957 are celebrating their 65th high school reunion this month. The class wrote the school’s inaugural student government charter, school fight song and alma mater. They also established the school’s newspaper, which continues publishing today, and they chose the school’s colors.

Cedar Rapids Police Lt. Cory McGarvey will be the first director of safety and transportation for Xavier Catholic Schools, overseeing emergency preparedness planning, school safety training and crisis management protocols across all campuses.

A shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 people in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.”