Cedar Rapids schools’ City View High to move to Linn County Regional Center

CEDAR RAPIDS — City View Community High School is moving this fall from its location in downtown Cedar Rapids to the Linn County Regional Center in Hiawatha and gaining a head of schools to oversee day-to-day programming.

Iowa BIG, a project-based learning program in Cedar Rapids, will move into the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance — where City View is currently located.

The two programs are a part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District and are still accepting new students for the 2025-26 school year.

A new contract with the Regional Center and a renegotiated contract with the Economic Alliance will save the Cedar Rapids district more than $100,000 next fiscal year. Funding to lease spaces for the programs comes from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, a voter-approved capital projects fund.

The contracts combined will cost the district $51,772, said Adam Zimmermann, principal of City View, executive director of Iowa BIG and director of innovation for the district.

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City View’s move to the Regional Center — where Kirkwood Community College offers courses for high school students — will encourage dual enrollment, Zimmermann said. This gives students a chance to gain more experience in their career field of interest and graduate high school with “more than a diploma,” he said.

“We’re excited to welcome City View to the Linn County Regional Center campus,” said Kristie Fisher, president of Kirkwood Community College. “This move aligns perfectly with our goal of preparing students for the next steps in their educational and career journeys. Together, we’re building a pathway where high school and college blend seamlessly to benefit students.”

The Cedar Rapids school board in April 2023, approved a lease agreement with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance through June 30, 2028. Under the agreement, the school district spent $600,000 on remodeling a portion of the Alliance building for school use.

“We have been so proud to support City View and are thrilled to see it succeeding,” Doug Neumann, executive director of the Economic Alliance, said in a news release Thursday. “The future workforce of our business members is getting an early taste of workplace experiences and employer expectations. This has proven to be an innovative and forward-thinking program our region needs and celebrates.”

Neumann said the Economic Alliance looks forward to a continued partnership with the school district, including the opportunity to share space with Iowa BIG.

It’s ‘magic’ to see kids learn at City View

Dennis Becker will become City View’s head of schools beginning July 1. He’s served as the program’s magnet school coordinator and instructional coach since the school opened in 2023.

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Students “tap into their interest” and learn to “love learning” through the innovative school model, Becker said.

“It gives me goose bumps,” Becker said. “We have a lot of students that never get to experience that through school because it never once mattered to them. When you can align them to something they have a passion for, they have a belief in, they get to know more about it. You get to see them light up. It is magic, certifiable magic.”

As head of schools, Becker will run the day-to-day operations of academic programming and supporting teachers, families and students. Zimmermann will remain as principal of City View.

What is City View?

City View opened in fall 2023 as a school students can opt in to regardless of where they live within the Cedar Rapids district. There are about 100 students enrolled at City View this year. Other Cedar Rapids high schools have between 1,300 and 1,700 students each.

About seven students are expected to be in the school’s first graduating class in May 2026.

At City View, students engage in competency-based learning, a teaching method that can create more personalized learning experiences with students demonstrating their mastery of a subject through evaluations.

Last fall, the school began to offer internship opportunities to students.

“Providing educational experiences like this for students in a public setting is incredibly important in Iowa. It’s necessary for public schools to be creative and provide options for students to keep them in public schools,” Becker said.

City View sees leaps in standardized testing

As City View concludes its second year, educators are seeing leaps in students’ academic progress. Preliminary scores on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress shows City View to be “on track to be one of the highest performing high schools in the City,” Zimmermann said.

The standardized test is taken by students in grades three through 11, once a year, to measure performance in English language arts, math and science.

“We designed this different experience, and we’re seeing real success on traditional measures,” Zimmermann said.

Iowa BIG to continue offering innovative learning

Iowa BIG’s move to the Economic Alliance gives the program a home after “bouncing around” to different locations since moving out of the Geonetric building in the New Bohemia district last year, Zimmermann said.

Iowa BIG currently is operating out of the Cedar Rapids Medical Education Foundation Building at 1260 Second Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids’ MedQuarter District.

The Cedar Rapids district will be the last remaining with Iowa BIG this fall as other districts have cut ties with the program over the years in favor of creating their own.

Zimmermann said their goal is to maintain enrollment of about 100 students for the 2025-26 school year. Students enrolled in the program split their time between their traditional high school and the off-site program.

There will be two teachers at Iowa BIG next school year.

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