Hope and hard work measure Polk

We know the Cedar Rapids Community School District leaders are faced with a set of challenges regarding budgets and planning. We know they study numbers in depth. We hope they consider two numbers that reflect the best efforts of some motivated students and dedicated educators: From 3 to 45.

Consider those numbers, imagine them on a three-year graph. Those are the composite achievement scores of Polk Elementary students, measured between the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. That is a trajectory of hope and hard work on the part of everyone involved at Polk. Amid difficulties that would dishearten most people, those students at Polk defied the odds and pushed their abilities upward. They moved off the dreaded No Child Left Behind lists via their determination and will, guided by devoted teachers.

That fact alone should give school board members and administrators alike reason to pause, reflect and think again about a district's pledge to encourage achievement.

As a Daybreak Rotarian and quarter-century veteran of the Cedar Rapids schools, we add our voices to those who say, “Keep Polk Open.” Do so for the sake of kids who have earned the chance to succeed.

Steve Carpenter

Mary Magner

Cedar Rapids