Charter schools coming to Cedar Rapids begin hiring staff

CEDAR RAPIDS — Two out-of-state charter schools coming to Cedar Rapids are looking for a location to open by fall 2025, and a locally-created charter school has hired staff in preparation to open this fall.

Empowering Excellence Charter School will be the first to open in Cedar Rapids this August. It was created by local educator Sarah Swayze, who operated a nonprofit called Empowering Youths of Iowa that provides one-on-one mentoring to students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

Earlier this year, Swayze decided to close the nonprofit because of a lack of funding and to open a charter school with the same mission: helping at-risk students graduate high school. “We want to make a difference and give them a dream, give them a purpose and build their confidence,” she said.

Several staff members already have been hired to help create personalized learning plans for each student, Swayze said.

The school’s director of education, Annie Bradford, was previously principal at the Johnson STEAM Academy, an elementary school in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

Bradford said she believes Empowering Excellence will “remove all barriers” to help students succeed. The school will help improve the lives of students by helping them earn a high school diploma and create a plan for the next step in their lives, she said.

“There are constraints in the regular public school system we are going to be able to step around and do whatever we need to do to help kids be more successful,” Bradford said.

The principal, Charles Mausser, comes from Choice Charter School, an online charter school in Iowa where he was principal for two years. Before that, he was a band director in Columbus Junction.

Amy Conyers will be the school’s student support director. She comes from All Saints Catholic School in Cedar Rapids. And Donald Taylor will be the school’s internship supervisor, a former educator who ran for the Cedar Rapids school board in 2023.

Charter schools are tuition-free schools that families can voluntarily enroll in 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.

The National Education Association opposes charter schools because they are privately managed and not held accountable by locally elected school boards and, the association says, divert funding away from traditional public schools. Neither charter schools or traditional public schools can claim to be more successful at raising student achievement, the group says.

Out-of-state charter schools look for sites

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The other two charter schools opening in Cedar Rapids, called Quest Forward Academy and CIVICA, are looking for buildings or property to build schools that will open for the 2025-26 academic year.

Local educator Justin Blietz was hired earlier this year as principal of Quest Forward Academy, which will be a sixth- to 12th-grade school with a mission of rigorous academic learning and opportunities for students to explore careers.

“I believe each student and each family has unique needs, and they deserve to have choice and different options and opportunities to explore what best meets the needs of their child,” he said. “We believe we’re putting out a great school that will be rigorous, high-achieving and really powerful and meaningful for students and families.“

The school will open with grades sixth and ninth and grow by a grade each year, until eventually offering sixth to 12th grade. The plan is for the school to serve about 220 students in its first year.

The expected base salary for the principal in Quest Forward’s first year is $120,000, according to Opportunity Education’s website, the parent group to Quest Forward. The following year, the salary is expected to be $125,000, with the opportunity for two bonuses totaling $15,000 each based on achieving benchmarks and goals related to the operational and academic success of the school.

Blietz took voluntary paid time off at the end of the school year from his role as principal at Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy — a middle school in the Cedar Rapids district — after sending an email to staff from his school email address asking them to join him in opening a new charter school. He officially begins his role as principal of Quest Forward Academy on July 1.

Blietz said partnering with local businesses will be “essential” to helping students explore their next step after high school through hands-on experiences, as is building strong relationships with families. By a student’s junior and senior years of high school, they will be dual-enrolled in college courses, working part-time jobs in their chosen career fields, job shadowing or completing internships.

“It relies heavily on knowing students deeply, knowing their strengths and interests and what their families hopes and dreams are for their students,” he said.

Blietz said he thinks there will be “no problem” in attracting educators to teach at the school.

“Holistically, we can do better in education, and I think this organization and school will center on that,” Blietz said. “What is it students and families need? How do we partner to design a school that students and families believe is meeting their needs?”

The Cedar Rapids Community School District also is creating college and career academies and pathways launching in high schools for the 2025-26 school year. These academies and pathways will prepare students for high-wage, high-skill and in-demand careers after high school, school officials say.

Quest Forward Academy was developed by Opportunity Education, which was founded in 2005 by Joe Ricketts, the founder and former chief executive officer of TD Ameritrade, a stockbroker.

According to Opportunity Education’s website, the schools opening in Cedar Rapids and also in Des Moines are the beginning of a “national expansion” of its charter schools.

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James Troupis, chief of schools for Opportunity Education, who lives out of state, said the school’s board of directors will be made of local business, political and community leaders.

“Ultimately, we have to build a budget and a school that can sustain on the public dollars we receive,” Troupis said, adding that any philanthropy beyond that helps build “stronger and more programs for kids.”

“We’re bringing a new option, and our hope is by delivering excellent outcomes and a great student and family experience, we’re not only going to affect the kids we have, but work together with other schools. We don’t see us as competition,” Troupis said.

Empowering Excellence Charter School

Empowering Excellence Charter School’s curriculum will be offered through the online learning platform, Edmentum. The school also will offer career-credential certificates in areas such as child care, office management, retail and customer service and food and hospitality.

The school still is seeking business partners to help students access job shadows and internship experiences, Swayze said. Among the school’s board of directors are current and former educators and local business owners, she said.

The charter school will be located at the Collins Community Credit Union building, 1800 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, where the nonprofit was based. Students must be at least 16 to register.

The school already has accepted about 45 students who received services from Empowering Youths of Iowa. Swayze said she hopes to have between 70 and 80 students in the first year.

Applications to Empowering Excellence Charter School open July 9 at empoweringexcellencecs.org.

CIVICA Charters

CIVICA is planning to open a K-5th grade elementary school in Cedar Rapids by fall 2025. CIVICA also has proposed to open an elementary school in Des Moines.

CIVICA contracts with a for-profit charter school education services provider called Academica, based in Miami, which operates more than 200 schools.

Frankie Mestre, service and support coordinator with Academica, said the company is in the process of finding a facility to house the school. Once the school has a location, there will be more information on its website, Mestre said in an email to The Gazette.

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