The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) presented its recommended changes to the school resource officer program during Monday’s Board of Education meeting. A total of 14 recommendations were shared by district staff during the three-hour-long meeting, including removing the two school resource officers at McKinley and Roosevelt middle schools. Other recommendations included having the […]
Cedar Rapids Community School District
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Masks and vaccines ‘strongly recommended’ for Cedar Rapids students and teachers
The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) is “strongly recommending” students wear masks when returning to school this fall and is requiring masks on district buses. School districts in Iowa can no longer require mask-wearing in their schools, due to a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in May. Students and staff who test positive for […]
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‘No major changes’ needed to SROs, CRPD says, despite data showing racial disparities in student arrests
Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman told school board members on Monday the department realizes its officers in Cedar Rapids schools have been arresting Black students at a disproportionately high rate, but said he still supports the school resource officer program “100 percent.” The Cedar Rapids Community School District has been re-examining its use of […]
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CRCSD to ‘act with urgency’ on racial disparities in how students are treated by school police officers
The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) is reexamining its use of school resource officers after recent data showed Black students are six times more likely than white students to have a complaint filed against them. The data, which spans five school years from 2015 to 2020, is from the state’s Department of Human Rights […]
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Gov. Reynolds signs bill making it illegal for schools to require face masks, further eroding authority of local governments
It is now illegal for schools in Iowa to require students or staff to wear face masks, even though the CDC recommends mask use in schools, because of a bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday morning. HF 847 also strips cities and counties of their authority to create mask mandates that […]
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Cedar Rapids high schools holding vaccine clinics this week for students 16 and older
Cedar Rapids high school students who are 16 years or older have the opportunity to get vaccinated this week during school-day hours at their high school. The Cedar Rapids Community School District, in partnership with Linn County Public Health, will hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics at Kennedy, Jefferson, Washington and Metro high schools. The two-dose Pfizer […]
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CRCSD shares preliminary plans for 2021-22 school year, including continued use of face masks
The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) will offer two options to families in the next academic year. For the 2021-22 school year, students will be able to choose between in-person learning or online learning through the Cedar Rapids Virtual Academy (CRVA), Superintendent Noreen Bush said during the Board of Education’s Monday meeting. The CRVA […]
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Two Iowa teachers reflect on a year of pandemic schooling
“Create a connection with the student [and] the work will come naturally, no matter how unusual the virtual format.” That’s the advice Jefferson High School teacher Joe Link would have given himself in March 2020. More than one year ago, Iowa schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting education and changing how teachers interacted […]
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Cedar Rapids high schools will hold in-person graduation ceremonies this spring
Students graduating from the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) will have an in-person graduation ceremony, the district said in an email to families on Friday. Ceremonies for Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington high schools will be held in the Alliant Energy PowerHouse, formerly known as the U.S. Cellular Center. The ceremony for Metro High School […]
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Cedar Rapids school board selects Scot Reisinger to fill vacancy
The Cedar Rapids Board of Education unanimously voted on Friday to appoint Scot Reisinger to the school board. The board announced last month they would fill the vacancy following the death of board member Gary Anhalt by appointment. “Mr. Scot Reisinger is a highly qualified candidate who resides in the school district with his family […]
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Cedar Rapids school board approves new names for two elementary schools
When getting input from Cedar Rapids students and families of what the new Coolidge and Jackson elementaries should be named, Jackson’s principal Nick Duffy said there was a “common theme” in the suggestions — the August derecho. “Given that we had experienced a significant natural disaster this summer in the wake of the derecho and […]
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CRCSD Superintendent Noreen Bush receives national award
Superintendent Noreen Bush of the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) was honored with a national superintendent award on Friday. Bush was named the recipient of the award from AASA, The School Superintendents Association during its 2021 Women in School Leadership Awards virtual ceremony. “Our program is designed to recognize the exceptional leadership from exemplary […]
