The Cedar Rapids Community School District is the second-largest of Iowa's 397 public school systems. The average composite ACT score for Iowa high school students is 22.0, ranking Iowa second in the nation; Cedar Rapids' average score is 23.5. The average daily attendance rate in 2003/2004 was 96 percent. As a result of the .38 percent dropout rate for high school students, the district was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal. Forty-nine percent of teachers have master's degrees. The district is working through a multi-year, $52 million facilities improvement plan. Additionally, $4.1 million was spent on new curriculum, teaching tools, and technology in 2003.
The following is a summary of data regarding the Cedar Rapids public schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.
Total enrollment: 17,729 (including home-schooled children)
Number of facilities elementary schools: 21
middle schools: 5
senior high schools: 4 (including one alternative high school)
Student/teacher ratio: 16:1
Teacher salaries (statewide) average: $39,432
Funding per pupil: $7,236
Catholic schools in the metropolitan area enroll nearly 3,000 students.
Public Schools Information: Cedar Rapids Community Schools, Community Relations, 346 Second Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404; telephone (319)558-2124
Six institutions of higher learning are located in the Cedar Rapids area. Coe College, Mount Mercy College, and Cornell College are all four-year, private, liberal arts colleges. Coe College, founded in 1851, offers 40 degree choices and small class size, with an enrollment of 1,300 students. Mount Mercy College was founded by the Sisters of Mercy and offers 35 majors, with 1,400 students. Cornell College, founded in 1853, has an enrollment of just over 1,100 students, and is ranked in the top 7 percent of the nation's colleges and universities.
In nearby Iowa City, the University of Iowa offers 100 undergraduate degree programs, 110 graduate degree programs and 74 doctorate degree programs. Its medical, dental, law, pharmacy, and business colleges are nationally recognized. The University of Iowa Education and Conference Center is located in downtown Cedar Rapids.
Kirkwood Community College provides vocational/technical, arts and sciences, and adult continuing education programs. Current full-time enrollment is nearly 14,000 students. Hamilton Business College is the oldest business college in Iowa, offering one year diplomas and two year associate degree programs.
The Cedar Rapids Public Library operates an architecturally impressive main facility as well as another branch on the west side of the city. It houses an up-to-date collection and a diverse array of services in comfortable surroundings. The library computer system, CD-ROM and Internet stations make information retrieval easy and convenient. The library offers programs for all ages, including story times, crafts, puppet and magic shows, author lectures, readings, demonstrations, and discussions.
Cedar Rapids is also served by the Coe College and Kirkwood Community College libraries. Among special libraries are the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, which collects published and unpublished resources by and about the Czech and Slovak peoples, and the Iowa Masonic Library, which contains 100,000 volumes of reference materials and a collection of colonial, Native American, and foreign exhibits.
The University of Iowa Libraries house more than 4 million volumes and more than 40,000 serials, making it one of the largest research collections in the country. The university's law library was recently ranked as one of the top five law libraries in the nation.
Public Library Information: Cedar Rapids Public Library, 500 First Street SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401; telephone (319)398-5123