District newsletter spotlights teacher award, student honors, camps and vaccine clinics

The Cedar Rapids Community School District podcast Future Ready Today featured a series of short district updates including staff recognition, student honors, campus events, summer opportunities and health clinic information.

Jenny Wagner, a teacher at Kennedy High School, received the Dan Marburger MVP award for violence-prevention advocacy; podcast hosts said Wagner founded Kennedy's MVP program in 2017. "She shared that this award affirms the importance of work being done in violence prevention," a host said on the episode. The hosts credited the MVP advisory teams at Kennedy and Perry High School for ongoing student leadership in prevention efforts.

The hosts also announced that Tori Paga, identified as a student from the district, was selected to travel to Washington, D.C., to represent the district and the state of Iowa. Hosts said listeners could follow district social media for updates while she is in the capital.

Kennedy High School senior Harper Hewitt was named Linn County outstanding student at Kirkwood Community College for the 2024–25 academic year. The hosts said Hewitt completed more than 30 Kirkwood credit hours with a GPA above 3.3 and has participated in Kirkwood’s patient care academy and nurse aide apprenticeship programs. Hewitt is scheduled to be honored at an April award ceremony, according to the podcast.

Kenwood Leadership Academy hosted a "Leader in Me" day featuring student performances and classroom showcases, the hosts said. Separately, the podcast highlighted that the Kennedy girls bowling team won the Class 3A state championship.

The district promoted a Discover summer camp for grades 3–5 to be held at Harding Middle School in June, offering activities including coding, engineering, art and filmmaking; registration details were listed in the district newsletter, the hosts said. The Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation was cited as offering local scholarships, and the Paul Anthony Memorial Music Scholarship was described as a $500 award; interested students were advised to contact their music director.

Finally, the hosts reminded families about mobile vaccine clinics coming to middle and high schools and said a schedule was available in the newsletter; school nurses were listed as the contact for questions.

The podcast did not include statements from the award recipients, students traveling to Washington, D.C., or school officials beyond what the hosts relayed. No new district policy or board action was announced during these updates.