The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Math. The lowest is 60% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hiawatha Elementary School
Hiawatha Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, located in the suburban city of Hiawatha, Iowa. It operates as a regular public school within a large district that has been actively reshaping its elementary footprint. The district has opened several new elementary schools in recent years and redrawn attendance boundaries, while also facing budget reductions tied to declining enrollment and state funding constraints. For families considering this school, those district-level shifts may influence class sizes, program availability, and which building a child eventually attends as boundaries evolve.
The student body at Hiawatha Elementary is moderate in size for the grade band and diverse in composition. A majority of students are white, with notable shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial children, and a smaller Asian population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with a range of economic backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, which is a gap a parent may want to clarify directly with the school.
On state assessments administered through Iowa’s ISASP, the school’s results show that a majority of students meet proficiency standards in math and English language arts, while science proficiency is lower. Compared to other schools across Linn County, the overall proficiency index places Hiawatha Elementary in the lower range. This is not a picture of weak performance in absolute terms—most students are meeting the bar in the core academic subjects—but families comparing options within the county will see that several other elementary schools post higher proficiency rates. Only one year of testing data was available, so it is not possible to see whether scores are trending up or down.
Hiawatha itself is a suburban community on the northwestern side of Cedar Rapids, with a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial development. The city has several parks with walking trails, free WiFi, and a seasonal farmers market, plus a major recreational trail linking to Cedar Rapids. Home values in the area are near the statewide average, and rents are moderate relative to typical household incomes. The city has experienced moderate population growth in recent decades and has developable land available, signaling gradual expansion.
The school offers no high school grade levels, so there is no graduation rate to report. No information was available on course access, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or chronic absenteeism, which are common points for parents to investigate further. The absence of special population counts and trend data means a parent considering this school may want to ask about supports for students with individualized education plans or English language development, and about whether the school’s academic trajectory has been stable.
Hiawatha Elementary stands as a neighborhood school in a growing suburban city, part of a district that is actively investing in facilities while managing enrollment decline. Its academic results are solid on their own terms but sit lower than many peers in the county. For a family whose priority is a school with a diverse, middle-income student body in a community with parks and trail access, this could be a reasonable fit. Those seeking the highest county-level test scores or more detailed program offerings may want to compare other Linn County elementary schools.
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