11 charter schools get grants from COVID relief fund

Gov. Kim Reynolds named the 11 charter schools that will receive nearly $4 million in federal dollars allowed for supporting students impacted by the pandemic.

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday morning announced nearly $4 million of grant money will be going to 11 charter schools in Iowa.

The grant money comes from the Iowa Charter Start-Up and Expansion Grant program, which is funded by money from State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund provided by the American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

Six of the recipients are new charter schools in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines that serve a mix of age groups. They will get up to $500,000 for start-up needs like facilities, transportation options, and curriculum. Every school but Great Oaks and Empowering Excellence will start classes next year, in August of 2025.

• Great Oaks Charter School, Des Moines, grades 9-12
• Empowering Excellence Charter School, Cedar Rapids, grades 11-12
• CIVICA Charter School-Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids, grades K-5
• CIVICA Charter School-Des Moines, Des Moines, grades K-5
• QUEST Charter School-Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids, grades 6-12
• QUEST Charter School-Des Moines, Des Moines, grades 6-12

Five existing charter schools will get up to $200,000 from the fund to expand their operations.

• Choice Charter School, Union, grades 9-12
• Hamburg Charter School, Hamburg, grades 9-12
• Horizon Science Academy, Des Moines, grades K-7
• West Central Charter High School, Maynard, grades 9-12
• Storm Lake Charter School, Storm Lake, grades 9-12

Charter schools are public schools that are independent from their local school districts. Many of them have narrower focuses on specialized topics or a particular population of students.

In Iowa, the Iowa State Board of Education authorizes new charter schools. They’re required to fill out applications for approval and to have a governing board and they’re given five years to prove their independent curricula help students.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 established the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and allowed states to use the money to complement the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, which was established to help students who were impacted by learning loss and other issues caused by the early days of the pandemic.

According to a document put together by the Iowa Department of Education in April 2023, Iowa received a total of $775 million in ESSER funds. Since 2021, that money has been given to public school districts across the state.