Cedar Rapids Community School District StarThe Cedar Rapids Community School District is eager to deliver on its promise of Every Learner: Future Ready and we are working hard to evolve our teaching practices, our workforce, and our facilities to most effectively meet the needs of our 21st century learners. The future-ready Facility Master Plan is one of several bold and game-changing efforts underway to achieve our goals.

The future-ready Facility Master Plan is an effort driven by community and district collaboration, along with an immense amount of data and analysis. The plan ensures that all elementary facilities optimize the learning and teaching experiences for our students and staff. A committee of community members and district employees met over the course of 15 months to design the plan which was presented to the Board of Education in 2017 and adopted in 2018.

Over the next 15-20 years, CRCSD will build 10 new elementary schools—or Community Hubs—and renovate three elementary schools. This process will include the closure and repurposing of eight schools. This is bold. This is innovative. This is necessary. Thank you for joining us on this important journey to reimagine, re-envision, and reinvest in our facilities to meet the needs of our youngest learners.

TIMELINE

In 2018, the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board approved Phase 1 of the Facility Master Plan framework as a recognition that due to the length of the implementation plan, it will be necessary to intermittently review the existing conditions related to facilities and adjust or pause plans accordingly. The tiered timeline in phases offer a flexible guide that may be modified over time, depending on availability of SAVE funding, population changes, and outcomes of collaborative conversations between the community, the city, and the school district. A boundary study will be conducted and high school feeders may change based on the results of that study.

TIER 1

TIER 2

TIER 3

Timeline

2019
2019

Tier 1 Phase 1 Projects

Schools Impacted: Coolidge, Jackson, and Truman

2019

Phase 1 of Tier 1:

Upon the extension of SAVE, the process to re-envision and build a new Coolidge begins, with a new school opening in 2021. Community conversations and plans for the construction of a new Jackson school will emerge during this time with the intent for that new school to open in 2022. Phase One will include the repurposing of Truman.

 

 

2019

Community Open Houses

CRCSD, OPN Architects, and the CR community will collaborate to re-envision and design the new Coolidge through a series of community conversations which will take place over the course of two to three months in Spring & Summer 2019.

2019

School Visits

The Facility Master Plan steering committee will tour existing regional elementary schools over the course of one month in Summer 2019.

 

 

2019

Community Open Houses Round 2

CRCSD, OPN Architects, and the CR community will hold a second round of community open houses to engage the community with design development of the new Coolidge. This will take place over the course of two to three months in Fall 2019.

2020
2020

Construction

After contractor bidding and negotiations in Winter 2020, the new Coolidge will be constructed over the course of 15-18 months. This will take place in Winter 2020 through Summer 2021. During the construction phase, classes will continue to be held in the old Coolidge building.

2021
2021

New Coolidge

Transition to the new Coolidge will occur Summer 2021, with the grand opening of the new Coolidge in Fall 2021. The old Coolidge will be demolished in Summer & Fall 2021.

2022
2022

New Jackson

New Jackson construction will occur in Summer 2021, with the grand opening of the new Coolidge in Fall 2022. The old Jackson will be demolished in Summer & Fall 2022. Truman Elementary will then be repurposed.

2022

Phase 2 of Tier 1:

Upon completion of Phase One, the board will pause to assess progress and determine if moving forward with addressing Arthur as the framework currently suggests remains an appropriate next step.

2023
2023

Tier 2 Projects

Schools: Harrison, Cleveland, Pierce, Erskine, Wright

2023

Phase 1 of Tier 2:

Upon completion of Tier 1, the Board will review the next steps in the process and determine if a pause or adjustments to the plan should be considered.

2027
2027

Tier 3 Projects

Schools: Hoover, Johnson, Grant, Viola Gibson, Hiawatha

2027

Phase 1 of Tier 3:

Upon completion of Tier 2, the Board will review the next steps in the process and determine if a pause or adjustments to the plan should be considered.

NEWS FEED

OPN Selected for Coolidge

In March, the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board unanimously selected OPN Architects to build the new Coolidge Elementary School. The future of the Facility Master Plan and how it…
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CRCSD Guest Column

The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) Board of Education (the Board) has several guiding principles. We believe in investing in student achievement, empowering innovative learning environments, valuing equity in…
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