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Freshman Academy to give incoming Cedar Rapids Washington High students a ‘Warrior hug’
Cedar Rapids district breaks ground on Career & Technical Education facility Wednesday
Jun. 4, 2025 6:12 pm, Updated: Jun. 5, 2025 8:30 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The Freshman Academy at Washington High School that is “soft launching” this fall will give incoming ninth-graders a “Washington Warrior hug” as they transition to high school, said Breanna Oxley, future teacher at the Academy.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the roughly $30 million investment was held Wednesday before construction begins to renovate a portion of the high school for a Freshman Academy and build an expansion for the Career & Technical Education facility.
New freshman and upper academies — launching for the 2027-28 school year — will support students’ transition to high school, give them access to “cutting edge technology,” increase their academic skills, and prepare them to be competitive in future job markets and “build a path toward their personal postsecondary aspirations,” Oxley said.
Freshman Academies will be optional classes for ninth-graders at Washington, Jefferson and Kennedy high schools for the 2025-26 school year. It will be a required class beginning fall 2026.
Once construction is completed, the Freshman Academy at Washington High will have its own entrance and wing of the building. Teams of teachers will support students in cohorts, building more meaningful relationships and giving students “voice and choice” in their learning, Superintendent Tawana Grover said in an interview with The Gazette last year.
At Washington High, there will be two groups of four teachers plus support staff each dedicated to about 150 students, creating a smaller learning environment within the school for the Freshmen Academy.
Similar construction already is underway at Jefferson High School for its Freshman Academy and career and technical education space.
Upper academies will open for the 2027-28 academic year at Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy and Metro. At Washington, the programs will include the Schools of Medical Sciences, Business & Media and Engineering & Technology.
Students still will have the opportunity to enroll in advanced placement and college classes and extracurricular programs.
Oxley said she and other teachers already have begun meeting with eighth grade counselors at middle schools that feed into Washington High to prepare for this fall.
“By the time (incoming freshmen) come here in the fall, we will know them to a degree. We’ve already done that work,” Oxley said.
Schools already work to get to know their students before the school year and prepare for their academic needs and other specially designed services. But Oxley said the Academy model enables teachers to dive into that work even further by having a team of teachers dedicated solely to the freshman class.
“We get to do it to a new height. I believe that’s key in helping freshmen be successful,“ Oxley said.
The program is being supported in part by a nearly $15 million federal grant enabling the district to invest in technology, innovative equipment and training for teachers.
How the project will be funded
Funding for the project is coming from two places:
- The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, an existing capital projects fund for the purchase and improvement of grounds, construction and remodeling of buildings, major equipment purchases including technology.
- And the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, an existing statewide sales tax, also is being set aside to fund infrastructure for college and career learning.
“This is what fully funded education can look like when you have the resources you need to get the materials, to have the staff and all those wrap around services that can help make kids, and in turn our community, successful,” Oxley said.
The Freshman Academy wing and Career & Technical Education facility will open fall 2026. To accommodate construction, teachers will share classrooms and school leaders are “getting creative,” Associate Principal Julie Cain said.
“We’ve known for a very long time that our ninth-graders have a challenging transition, and we’ve thought for many years that we would like to have an academy for ninth-graders, but we just haven’t had the space,” Cain said.
Washington High Principal Ian LeMaster said he is “thrilled” in this investment that will “support our students’ futures.”
“Projects like these do not come without some temporary sacrifices, and I appreciate the willingness of our staff to endure those sacrifices so our students can have some amazing long-term educational opportunities,” said LeMasters, who is stepping away from the role of principal this summer to spend more time with his family.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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