Three charter schools proposed in Cedar Rapids, more in Des Moines

CEDAR RAPIDS — A nonprofit that provides one-on-one mentoring to students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District has applied to the Iowa State Board of Education to open a charter school in the fall of 2024.

The nonprofit — Empowering Youths of Iowa — has helped dozens of students graduate high school by providing them a safe space to learn and lunch during the week. It was started by retired teacher Sarah Swayze in June 2021.

Empowering Youths of Iowa’s application is one of eight charter school applications received by the Iowa State Board of Education for proposed schools in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.

The Iowa State Board of Education will consider the applications for approval, approval with conditions, or denial at their board meeting on Jan. 11, 2024.

The other applicants to open a charter school are:

The charter school proposed by Empowering Youths of Iowa — that would be named Empowering Excellence — would serve only 11th and 12th-graders, Swayze said in an interview with The Gazette.

The school would target teenagers who are about to drop out of high school and give them an “alternative way” to get their high school diploma, Swayze said.

Swayze said the charter school would work “in partnership to save the kids” by reducing the number of students in the area who don’t graduate high school.

Already, there are three charter schools in Iowa. Most recently, Horizon Science Academy opened this fall in Des Moines.

Charter schools are tuition-free schools 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 state aid.

Swayze said that while yes, the Cedar Rapids school district could lose out on per-pupil funding from the state by students transferring to Empowering Excellence, the district already would have lost out on that funding if students dropped out of school instead.

Opening a charter school isn’t her “first choice,” Swayze said, but she sees a need for it in Cedar Rapids.

In its first year, Swayze said she hopes to start with no more than 78 students and grow to 174 students within the next five years.

Currently, about 60 students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District use Empowering Youths of Iowa’s services.

The charter school’s curriculum would be offered through the online learning platform Edmentum.

Empowering Youths of Iowa is located at Collins Community Credit Union, 1800 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids. Swayze believes they will be able to continue in this location as a charter school.

“We’re a smaller organization where we really get to know the kids, their learning styles and what they need to succeed,” said Jim West, the director of education at Empowering Youths of Iowa.

West, who taught at Lisbon Middle School in Lisbon for more than 30 years and was a substitute teacher in Cedar Rapids, said students come to them “feeling discouraged.”

“They’ve gotten behind for a lot of different reasons, and they feel hopeless. We have them work one course at a time and get that class done before moving on to the next one instead of trying to do five or six courses at a time,” West said.

Students at Empowering Youths of Iowa sign a contract promising to come to the program at least three days a week for three hours a day. This gives them autonomy and responsibility over their own learning, West said.

“It’s not 100 percent successful, but it is successful for a lot of students. We want them to feel in charge of their education.”

Other charter schools’ proposals

CIVICA is proposing to open a K-5th grade elementary school in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. A location for the school was not included in the proposal, but the charter would be in a “brand-new facility” in the Cedar Rapids Community School District attendance zone, according to the application.

Quest Forward is proposing opening a 6-12th grade school in the Cedar Rapids school district attendance zone. The charter is evaluating existing school buildings and properties for building a new school in Cedar Rapids.

Scholarship Prep is proposing opening an elementary and middle school in Des Moines. Oakmont is proposing opening a high school in Des Moines.

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