Education

Members of the Cedar Rapids City Council have signed onto a letter of support for the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s $117 million bond referendum that goes before voters Nov. 4.

Iowa Republican leaders and school officials are condemning reports that a teacher celebrated the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, calling the alleged remarks “reprehensible” and demanding swift accountability.

Shortly after U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks on Thursday called for the University of Iowa to name is new legislative-imposed Center for Intellectual Freedom after slain Republican-activist Charlie Kirk, Board of Regents President Sherry Bates issued a statement on Kirk’s shooting and the new civic centers on its campuses.

All three of Iowa’s public universities this fall are reporting larger freshman classes than last year — with both Iowa State and the University of Iowa boasting their second-largest first-year classes ever after peaking in 2016.

The Board of Regents’ pared-down funding ask comes after lawmakers rejected its $30.3 million request last session and instead offered a $4 million bump, largely supporting legislative priorities and ignoring university appeals.

Engagement surveys given to new Cedar Rapids school district teachers and “milestone” teachers who have been with the district for five, 10, 15, and 20 years or more, highlighted two areas of concern for staff: student behavior and input in decision-making at the building and district level.

After announcing earlier this summer plans to close its University of Northern Iowa-based ROTC unit, the U.S. Army has changed course — allowing UNI’s ROTC program to remain in Cedar Falls under a new structure.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, the gender gap between boys and girls in STEM classes nearly closed. But within a few years, girls lost all the ground they had gained in math test scores, according to an Associated Press analysis.