CRCSD’s Kennedy High School is listed among the nation's top high schools, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s list of 2023-2024 Best Public High Schools. The list showcases high schools nationwide where students demonstrate outstanding outcomes, surpass anticipated benchmarks, and graduate college-ready.

“Kennedy is proud of the hard work our staff and students do every day to become future-ready citizens,” stated Jason Kline, Principal at Kennedy High School. “We are also proud that our AP and Kirkwood program offerings are some of the best in the country.”  

Cedar Rapids Kennedy ranked among the top 20%, #3,150, out of the nearly 18,000 U.S. public high schools evaluated for this year’s report. Only forty Iowa high schools were named in the nation’s top 5,000 schools. Along with the national rankings, the U.S. News & World Report also publishes rankings by state, listing Cedar Rapids Kennedy #20 among the almost 320 Iowa High Schools included this year. 

U.S. News & World Report evaluated schools on six factors to produce this year’s ranking - college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates.

“This is an incredible achievement and remarkable honor for the Kennedy High School students, staff, and families,” shared Dr. Tawana Grover, CRCSD Superintendent. “It is a testament to our district’s dedication to giving our students an excellent education so they are college and career-ready when they graduate.”  

Cedar Rapids’ Washington and Jefferson High Schools also made the list. Washington High School was ranked #113 in the state of Iowa and #9,323 nationally, while Jefferson was ranked #185 in the state and #12,239 nationally. 

Bond Petition Canvassing

Come join CRCSD staff on Wednesday, September 6th, from 5:30-7:00 PM, as they visit area neighborhoods to help collect signatures for the proposed school bond referendum. If you are interested in helping, please contact your student’s school office by Tuesday, September 5th, for more details. 

The bond petition is available in your student’s school office if you and your family would like to sign it. You just have to reside in the Cedar Rapids School District and be eligible to vote. Or, print off the petition form attached, sign it, and return it to the school office by September 14th. 

For more information on the bond, please check out build.crschools.us.

School Improvement Advisory Committee Seeking Members

Do you want to be a part of something big at CRCSD and make a difference in the lives of our students? We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join the School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) for the 2023-24 school year. To learn more about SIAC, click here. 

We are looking for students, families, community members, and district staff to join us as we tackle our next challenge - College and Career Readiness! This year, the purpose of the committee is to provide input and feedback on our plan to ensure every learner has a plan, pathway, and passion when they graduate from CRCSD. Our goal is to ensure every CRCSD graduate leaves with college credit and/or industry certification by May 2027. Key areas of focus will be:

• Vision, Mission, and Design - Create aligned K-12 vision, mission, and design for career pathways.
• Career pathways - Define 4-6 high-skill, high-wage, high-demand career pathways that meet the demands of the Cedar Rapids metro area labor market.
• Key skills and success indicators - Define the success indicators for our Profile of a Graduate.
• Programming and support continuum - Design K-12 programming to prepare students to be ready to pursue their passion area.
• Marketing and branding - Review marketing and branding materials for our pathways programming.

This is an incredible opportunity to be a part of the team that helps guide CRCSD towards success. If you are interested in making a difference and becoming a member of the School Improvement Advisory Committee and can commit to the meeting dates below, click here. For questions, please contact Adam Zimmermann, CRCSD Executive Director of Innovation.

SIAC meetings will be held on the following dates:

School Pictures

We wanted to let families know that CRCSD is using a new photography company for this year’s school pictures and student IDs. Barksdale Photography, also known as Pictures with Class, will be this year’s provider. Below is the schedule of the remaining picture dates. Any changes to these dates will be communicated by your student’s schools. Picture make-up dates are scheduled after September for students and staff who were absent on the initial day or for any purchased packages returned for retake.

No School Monday, September 4th

The Cedar Rapids Community School District schools will be closed on Monday, September 4th, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. We hope our students and their families have a safe and enjoyable day off.

The Jefferson J-Hawk football team broke their 26-game losing streak last Friday with their win over Muscatine. They won again last night over Marshalltown.

Metro High School staff and students enjoyed canoeing at Prairie Park Fishery last Friday as part of their Outdoor Education. This is a long-standing tradition for Metro students. Click here to see more photos.

Coaches and student-athletes from Mt. Mercy University welcomed Arthur Elementary students back to school last Wednesday. Mt. Mercy has a great partnership with the school and helps out in various ways throughout the year.

Kindergarteners at Harrison Elementary School have a few new friends in their classroom. They are starting their Monarch Butterfly unit and will follow the life cycle of Monarchs from eggs to butterflies right infront of their eyes. 

2023-24 School Calendar

2023-24 Preschool Calendar

Jefferson High School

Activities Calendar

Kennedy High School

Activities Calendar

Washington High School

Activities Calendar

Learn more about

breakfast and lunch

meals here.

Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to discriminate in educational programs and/or activities on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity, socioeconomic status, national origin, religion, disability, age (except for permitting/prohibiting students to engage in certain activities) or genetic information and in employment opportunities on the basis of age, race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Darius Ballard, Chief of Human Resources, Educational Leadership and Support Center, 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA, (319) 558-2000.