Taylor has trouble-free first day as only year-round Cedar Rapids school

Between scorching heat earlier in the week and the imminent arrival of RAGBRAI cyclists, this didn't seem like a good week to start school in Cedar Rapids.

But an overnight storm helped keep Thursday cool, and bikes were just starting to trickle downtown as students departed at 1:30 p.m., making for a "fantastic" first day of school, according to Taylor Elementary School Principal Brian Christoffersen.

"I was nervous, but it turned out to be an amazing first day," he said.

Taylor kicked off its 2012-2013 school year Thursday as the only school in the Cedar Rapids school district using a modified school calendar that features a shorter summer break.

The district initially was concerned dismissal could be disrupted due to the proximity of Taylor to the RAGBRAI route as well as support vehicle parking at Veterans Memorial Stadium. An e-mail was sent out to parents warning about the coincidental event.

But RAGBRAI ended up being no problem at all, thanks to the school's 1:30 p.m. dismissal for the first day of school, which cleared out students before the area became busy.

For the first time in more than a decade, Taylor is not opening at the same time as Polk Elementary School, which closed to become an alternative education center in May.

The closure hasn't dampened enthusiasm at Taylor for the year-round model. Parents interviewed while dropping off or picking up their students Thursday all said they preferred Taylor's calendar to the one used by the rest of the school district.

"It just seems like the right time," said Steve Munz. "Boredom is just starting to set in, so it's great for the kids to get back in school and see their friends."

Melissa Smith likes the modified calendar so much, she is using the district's permit process to enroll her kindergarten son in Taylor from the neighboring Harrison neighborhood. She sees a solid academic benefit in having shorter breaks.

"The kids don't lose as much from being gone over the entire summer, and it's nice to have more frequent breaks throughout the year," she said.

Christoffersen is also a strong supporter of the year-round calendar as well, having seen it in action at Taylor during his seven years at the school, not counting a brief break following the 2008 floods. He sees it as making much more sense for modern life than the traditional idea of taking the entire summer off.

"If you were going to start a public education system from scratch, can you imagine anyone saying, 'Let's shut down all our facilities at once for an entire season?'" he said.