Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Cedar Rapids district reports drops in behavior referrals, early gains after rollout of instructional model
Summary
At a Sept. 22 Cedar Rapids Community School District board meeting, Dr. Morrow Hobson reported early classroom results from the district's Instructional Empowerment model, including declines in disciplinary referrals at multiple schools, proficiency gains at Cleveland Elementary and expanded use of restorative practices and coaching.
At the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education meeting on Sept. 22, Dr. Morrow Hobson updated the board on the district's Instructional Empowerment model of instruction, reporting reductions in major behavior referrals across several schools and early academic gains at Cleveland Elementary.
Hobson described the model as built around three elements: teaming classrooms (students working in structured teams with clear roles), lessons aligned to state standards, and interdependent tasks in which students contribute distinct pieces to a shared outcome. He told the board district leaders had visited classrooms as part of implementation, reporting 249 classroom visits earlier in the rollout and 410 visits as of the morning of the Sept. 22 meeting.
District-provided data Hobson highlighted showed decreases in major behavior referrals from the 2023-24 school year to 2024-25 at five schools cited by district staff:…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
