09/30/2026
GUEST COLUMN | DR. TAWANA LANNIN
Staying At The Table
Nearly two years ago, I was at Jefferson High School sharing early plans for what would eventually become our Freshman Academy when a parent approached me. I wish I remembered his name. If he is reading this, I hope he knows I have never forgotten what he told me. His message was simple: If you are thinking about something, tell us. Let us come along while you are working through it so it doesn’t feel like something was simply done to us. I have carried that lesson with me ever since: Involvement creates ownership.
I knew when I came to Cedar Rapids that the work ahead would be significant. That is part of what drew me here: the hopes and possibilities I saw in this community. What I didn’t fully expect was how deeply I would come to care about this district and its people. That depth of commitment raises the stakes on every tough decision and makes progress far more meaningful.
The lesson I have learned in nearly 31 years in public education is that the hardest work only holds together when people are willing to do it in the open. This has been one of the most dynamic and complex periods of my career as we strengthen and protect high-quality educational experiences for our students, including the difficult decision to retire five legacy schools this year. Cleveland, Grant, Nixon, Wright and Cedar River Academy will always matter to the students, staff and families who called them home.
Our schools belong to this community, and major decisions should be built with the community, not around it. I am deeply grateful for the people who come from every corner of Cedar Rapids to be part of this work: parents, students, educators, business and civic leaders and former superintendents. More than 3,200 survey responses and 11 public engagement sessions helped inform our path, alongside a Board of Education that has remained committed and colleagues across this district who show up because they care.
As I begin my fourth year as superintendent, the constant remains our students. In a year defined by change, stability is essential, and it comes from remaining anchored to what matters most: knowing every child, challenging them and helping them discover what they are capable of becoming. On a recent visit to the Freshman Academy at Jefferson High School, an administrator shared with me the confidence he had seen building in one student, who told him, “I can do hard math now.” When I spoke with that student myself, he added, “I’m going to make an A on my next exam.” The smaller, personalized learning environment has let him advance at his own pace, and that boost in confidence is exactly the kind of growth we are working toward.
Our staff carries that belief into classrooms every day, and the results reflect their tireless work. Our four-year graduation rate has climbed to nearly 82%, a gain of more than five points since 2021-22, with encouraging progress among students who have historically experienced gaps. Elementary students are also making meaningful gains in reading, while more students are earning industry-recognized credentials and college credit. Physical altercations are down nearly 30%. We have made progress, but we are not finished.
Those gains have required difficult choices. We built a balanced 2026-27 budget with $12 million in savings without eliminating student programs, secured more than $5.6 million in outside grants and saw community members contribute more than 17,000 volunteer hours. These numbers matter because they show what this community has built together, not promises about what might come. Our challenge is to build a more sustainable system without creating a smaller experience for children. Much of our current work is about redesigning the school day itself to provide greater opportunities for every student. The work is deeply personal. We are involving employees directly in the transition, giving them opportunities to share their preferences and ensuring individual support is available throughout the process. That is what it looks like when we say people matter here: creating space for their voices and experiences to inform the transition.
Our board of education approved Destination Excellence, a five-year strategic plan built around four priorities: Academic Advantage, Extracurricular Edge, Culture of Connection and Organizational Sustainability. A strategic plan on paper is not the accomplishment. What students experience because of it is what matters. You helped shape this direction, and you deserve to see how we are delivering on that commitment: We will measure our progress honestly, communicate what is working and what is not, and adjust our course when the evidence calls for change.
So my invitation this year is simple: Stay at the table. Celebrate our students. Support our educators and families. Ask hard questions. Lend us your expertise. Help us identify what we should protect, what we should improve and what we should stop doing when it creates a burden without enough benefit for students.
I recently spoke with a principal at Washington High School who told me it was hard to picture how the facility changes we made this year would affect daily life in his building until he saw students and staff connecting in new ways. It is proof that when we invest in the right spaces, we are investing in relationships. That is what staying at the table looks like once decisions are made: not a plan on paper, but Cedar Rapids showing up for itself, one classroom at a time.
These are some of the stories. Every day across this district, there are more like them, quiet proof of the resilience that is in our bones here. We are owning our challenges without allowing them to define us. We are owning our future together. Cedar Rapids has stayed at the table. So will I.
Dr. Tawana Lannin
Superintendent, Cedar Rapids Community School District.
