Iowa will return to the federal summer food assistance program Summer EBT after a state pilot program, Healthy Kids Iowa, served less than a third of the estimated 220,000 eligible Iowa children in 2025. @erindmurphy.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

Leaders of Iowa’s K-12 public schools are navigating an increasingly complex job, guiding districts through unprecedented changes such as broader school choice, politicization of schools, heightened public scrutiny and continued pandemic recovery. www.thegazette.com/k/job-of-k-1...

Cedar Rapids schools Superintendent Tawana Grover has faced a lot of criticism since joining the district almost three years ago. Here's what she has to say on criticism, trust and community as the district embarks on reducing the budget by $10 million. www.thegazette.com/k/cedar-rapi...

More than one out of six K-12 students in Iowa are attending school outside of their neighborhood public school, including enrolling into another public school, a charter school or an accredited non-public school. www.thegazette.com/k/more-iowa-...

Cedar Rapids Prep charter school intends to expand to a second location with plans to purchase the former GoDaddy building in Hiawatha for its middle school. www.thegazette.com/k/former-god...

A policy revision in the Iowa City Community School District would better define physical aggression of students toward staff and clarify disciplinary action. www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-city-...

Superintendent Marc Snavely hopes the shorter week will boost teacher morale, reduce burnout and make the rural district more competitive. Education researchers caution the promised benefits have not shown up in the data. @gazettedotcom www.thegazette.com/k/4-day-scho...

Linn-Mar Community School District Superintendent Amy Kortemeyer is retiring at the end of the school year. www.thegazette.com/k/linn-mar-s...

Nearly two years after Iowa enacted its school library book restrictions, the law’s future remains unresolved, leaving districts navigating shifting legal ground. @tjbarton83.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

Options to reduce costs in the Cedar Rapids schools include consolidating schools and reconfiguring grade levels to add fifth and sixth grade intermediate schools as the district examines how to reduce its annual budget by more than $10 million. www.thegazette.com/k/cedar-rapi...

The Iowa City school board is considering prohibiting student cellphone use during all school hours as data indicates positive outcomes of banning phones during class time. www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-city-...

The Iowa City Community School District is exploring piloting its own before- and after-school program next year at four schools in an effort to provide consistent, equitable and engaging experiences for families. www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-city-...

These Eastern Iowa school volunteers ‘exemplify’ what it means to give back. Sylvia Peterson, 74, has volunteered full-time in a school for more than a decade. Many of the teachers consider her essential. She considers them family. www.thegazette.com/k/these-east...

Closing schools “is necessary” as the Cedar Rapids Community School District examines how to reduce its annual budget by more than $10 million after a decade of declining enrollment. www.thegazette.com/k/closing-sc...

HACAP's food reservoir director is hopeful awareness and support can continue as service providers carry on in their daily work of addressing food insecurity in Iowa communities. @thegazette.com www.thegazette.com/news/snap-is...

The CEO of IPERS said he does not object to a review of the retirement program for public employees, but cautioned of potential consequences of a voluntary contribution option — a recommendation from a citizen task force. @tjbarton83.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

Providers of and advocates for services like speech therapy are expressing concern that a pending state rule change for Medicaid billing could weaken those services. @erindmurphy.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

Staff, families and community members will have opportunities in the coming months to shape a new seven-year strategic plan. The first meeting of a community coalition is happening Thursday. www.thegazette.com/local-govern...

A fourth charter school — called Horizon Science Academy — is seeking approval from the Iowa State Board of Education next month to open in Cedar Rapids. Here's what to know about charter schools in Eastern Iowa. www.thegazette.com/k/two-more-c...

A career pathway new to Prairie High School this year aims to put interested students on direct paths to earn a Federal Aviation Administration mechanic certification. www.thegazette.com/k/heres-a-pe...

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is investigating allegations against three Clayton Ridge Community School District administrators — the superintendent, middle and high school principal and dean of students. @thegazette.com www.thegazette.com/education/st...

An industry recognized credentials verify high school student's “skill mastery” and could open doors for them to further explore their career interests. www.thegazette.com/article/here...

Learning that two years of focused hard work to improve student attendance and academic achievement led to Prairie Hill Elementary School to be named a Blue Ribbon School gave fourth grade teacher Aleisha Nova “goose bumps.” www.thegazette.com/k/heres-how-...

An update from our editor www.thegazette.com/news/note-fr...

New Cedar Rapids school board President Jennifer Neumann spoke about taking “accountability” and establishing trust with the community before being appointed Monday by fellow board members in a 4-3 vote. www.thegazette.com/k/new-cedar-...

At the school level, some see benefits from closer alignment and targeted grants. @tjbarton83.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

A Minnesota-based company is entering into an agreement to purchase The Gazette and 11 community newspapers, the companies announced jointly this morning. www.thegazette.com/news/adams-m...

Marissa Moore, a language arts teacher at Clear Creek Amana, inspires career pathways, builds confidence and shows “genuine care” for her students. She is one of nine teachers from across the state named a 2026 Iowa Regional Teacher of the Year. www.thegazette.com/k/clear-cree...

Iowa households that rely on food assistance will begin receiving their long-delayed November SNAP benefits after Congress ended the 43-day federal government shutdown, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. @tjbarton83.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

As the Cedar Rapids school district faces a decline of 622 students this year, school leaders are asking the community to work with them to develop a strategic plan to increase enrollment and address facility and staffing needs. www.thegazette.com/k/cedar-rapi...

As the Linn-Mar Community School District reaches the completion of a five-year plan, school leaders continue to look toward the future, taking steps to create a plan for the next decade. www.thegazette.com/k/linn-mar-t...

Teachers in Cedar Rapids attribute a new learning model to their renewed joy in teaching, deeper student engagement and improved student behavior. www.thegazette.com/k/improved-t...

An incredibly powerful story by @ecdecious.bsky.social "Trips to food pantries continue to be a source of food. But even with creativity and determination, good home economics can only trickle down so far on each plate after removing SNAP from the equation." www.thegazette.com/news/snap-re...

Thousands of students in Eastern Iowa like Aliyah Ginger are exploring their career options by dual enrolling in Kirkwood Community College classes, earning high school and college credit without the weight of tuition. www.thegazette.com/k/high-schoo...

Iowa state Sen. Molly Donahue is calling for the resignation of three Cedar Rapids school board members after a multimillion dollar school bond referendum failed voter approval Tuesday. Here's what those board members had to say. www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-lawma...

Multimillion dollar school bond referendums failed to garner voter approval Tuesday in the Williamsburg and Central City school districts. www.thegazette.com/local-electi...

The morning after a multimillion dollar school bond referendum narrowly failed voter approval in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, Superintendent Tawana Grover held back tears as she talked about the students. www.thegazette.com/k/recount-un...

I was focused on Cedar Rapids school bond and school board elections last night, so I too, am playing catch up on other elections. Thanks to my colleagues at @thegazette.com who pitched in on education coverage!

Three newcomers elected to the Cedar Rapids school board Tuesday felt “mixed emotions” after learning a multimillion-dollar school bond referendum that would have supported facility improvements failed to win voter approval. www.thegazette.com/k/3-newcomer...

The refrain of advocates for C.R. schools bond referendum Tuesday night as election results trickled in was “unofficial results." The results show the $117 million referendum narrowly failing by less than 1 percent — fewer than 200 votes short. www.thegazette.com/local-electi...

It's Election Day! Don't forget to vote. I will be heading to the polls this morning to interview people about what drew them out to vote and how they voted. @thegazette.com www.thegazette.com/article/its-...

Voting tomorrow? Here’s who’s running for school board seats in Linn and Johnson counties www.thegazette.com/k/heres-whos...

Voting and a resident in the Cedar Rapids school district? Here's what to know about the $117 million school bond referendum on your ballot www.thegazette.com/local-electi...

Iowa anti-hunger advocates said rulings that order the Trump administration to fund the SNAP using contingency funds offer some hope, but not immediate relief to the hundreds of thousands of Iowans who rely on the federal food aid program. @thegazette.com www.thegazette.com/state-govern...

Data centers consume large amounts of manufactured and natural resources like electricity and water. I'm curious what that impact will look like in Cedar Rapids and Iowa. @thegazette.com www.thegazette.com/curious-iowa...

About 140 children and their families in Iowa will no longer have child care beginning Monday as Community Action of Eastern Iowa is forced to halt its Head Start program because the ongoing federal government shutdown has delayed funding. www.thegazette.com/k/without-fu...

A surge in student hunger — brought on by the suspension of a federal food assistance program beginning Saturday — will manifest as crisis in classrooms, decreased academic performance and increased behavioral challenges, Iowa school leaders say. www.thegazette.com/k/student-hu...

Prairie Hill Elementary School in the College Community School District has been honored as one of four Blue Ribbon Schools in the state for its students’ reading and math proficiency and reducing chronic absences. @erindmurphy.bsky.social www.thegazette.com/education/pr...

A new district support team is reviewing instance of student physical aggression, office referrals, academic performance and other data in an effort to more closely monitor trends and provide support for schools in the Iowa City Community School District. www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-city-...

The College Community School District is the latest Iowa school to contract with ZeroEyes, a security service that uses AI technology to detect weapons. www.thegazette.com/k/college-co...