2023 Best Districts with Gifted and Talented Programs in the Cedar Rapids Area

• Marion, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.03 out of 5  63 reviews

Senior: Linn-Mar is very inclusive of all sorts of students. There are lots of opportunities for people with many different hobbies. All of the sports programs are very well built up, and the music department is even better developed (considered the best in the state by some). Of course, it's nice to see Linn-Mar's architectural design continue to become better as the years go by and I wish there was more parent involvement with Linn-Mar's projects.... Read 63 reviews

• grade A

• Total schools 12

• Students 7,762

• Iowa City, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.18 out of 5  130 reviews

Alum: I am a recent graduate from Iowa City West High. I really liked the college readiness of the teachers and the classes. The amount of AP Classes that I could take was great! It really helped me prepare for my college classes with learning how to take notes, be organized, and manage my time well. I thought the teachers that I had were very caring and understanding when it came to work done in and outside of classes. I think that West High prepares you very well for college at any school.... Read 130 reviews

• grade A

• Total schools 28

• Students 14,428

• Williamsburg, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.18 out of 5  17 reviews

Sophomore: I love the environment in this school and how most teacher teach the content. A lot of them are willing to help students and not make any student feel idiotic for being unsure of a subject. The administrators care about the students and have our best interests in mind. They are involved and help our school to be a safe place where we don't have to worry about "fitting in" because there's also something for everyone!... Read 17 reviews

• grade A

• Total schools 2

• Students 1,226

• Solon, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.26 out of 5  19 reviews

Senior: Solon has excelling academics with teachers who truly care about the students. High School Students are encouraged to take college courses at the surrounding colleges and universities at no cost to the students. The only downfall is that the school only offers 2 AP courses. There also are no Agriculture or FCS courses offered. Solon is a very safe school district and respect is expected of everyone school wide. A variety of clubs and activities are offered and the school is known for its excellence in sports, specifically football. The school culture can be a little clicky and there definitely is an in-group and out-group feel. Music and fine arts are fairly good, but marching band doesn't receive much funding. Everything tends to go towards the sports programs, but this leads to exceptionally nice facilities. This includes an indoor track, turf field, brand new weight lifting room, and two gyms.... Read 19 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,515

• Center Point, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.29 out of 5  17 reviews

Senior: At Center Point-Urbana, the clubs are very beneficial to students, but since it is so small, the clubs are minimal and don't have many resources. The faculty includes a lot of teachers that are invested in the future of the children. A couple of years ago, the high school became a blue ribbon school. This notion is supported by the number of students accepted into the National Honors Society and other prestigious organizations. The school does a great job of getting the community involved in activities. For example, the parents of the junior class all come together to make the prom wonderful every year. They also are always willing to help out at sporting events when needed. It is not just sports that get attention, however. The band and choir both get recognized for their accomplishments and are never shoved aside. One of the few setbacks of the school district is that it does not have much diversity. Overall, Center Point-Urbana School is somewhere that I am proud to call my home.... Read 17 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,541

• Marion, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.13 out of 5  23 reviews

Senior: Marion has a lot of resources available for anyone in need. Marion has a lot of groups that are willing to help out the community. The staff and students do everything they can to make their community the best it can be. The facilities are not the best, but they will be improved soon. A new football field is being built at the moment and a new elementary school will begin construction soon.... Read 23 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 6

• Students 2,190

• Mount Vernon, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.93 out of 5  14 reviews

Senior: I've had a great experience at Mount Vernon. I've consistently been given the chance, and pushed, to challenge myself with AP and dual-enroll classes while also being a part of the amazing orchestra and choir programs, track and field, and Science Olympiad.... Read 14 reviews

• grade A minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 1,386

• West Liberty, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.38 out of 5  16 reviews

Alum: Overall, the environment at this school was very welcoming. However, there were definitely teachers who made students feel horrible. There is a lot of diversity and the emphasis on the dual language program is definitely to thank for that. Many students benefitted greatly from it and, to this day, are close to fluent in Spanish. The biggest issue that there was at this school is the misplacement of funds. So much money was poured into the athletics and not enough into other areas of school life.... Read 16 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,330

• Cedar Rapids, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.91 out of 5  116 reviews

Parent: Loved the diversity and wide range of opportunities for my kids! My kids were accepted to elite colleges and many of their peers went to Ivy league schools. The district supports gifted education, art and music skills and involvement, speech, debate, robotics, etc. My kids took 15 AP classes each and 2-4 college classes through the school district. Their peers are from all backgrounds and I found them accepting of all races, genders, etc. There were not many cliques and my kids felt very safe at school. They also got cool opportunities to study abroad while in high school.... Read 116 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 32

• Students 15,786

• Marengo, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.5 out of 5  6 reviews

Senior: Iowa Valley is a very small school located in a very small town. Everybody knows everybody and (at least for me) if you didn’t know someone personally you at least recognized them in the hallways. The teachers are all very laid back, and they do what they can to make sure that their students succeed. The classes that are offered are vast, and they even include dual enrollment classes for a community college nearby. The staff is always helpful, and the school as a whole is a great place to get a good high school education.... Read 6 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 2

• Students 553

• Wellman, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.5 out of 5  38 reviews

Senior: Mid-Prairie had been and I think will always be a big part of my life. It has a great atmosphere if you're going to a football game or just walking around the halls. Since it is a part of a smaller community everyone is pretty close and mostly supportive of different activities that happen around the district. All in all Mid-Prairie is a good district to be a part of. Go hawks!... Read 38 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 5

• Students 1,429

• Monticello, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.93 out of 5  14 reviews

Senior: Overall the school district does a great job working with students and the staff does a great job keeping up. A few negative things the school struggles with would be the heating system because everyone is always cold, and there are a few teachers that I think if they spent a little more time on grading rather than assigning new things, the students would like them better.... Read 14 reviews

• grade B+

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,048

• Oxford, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.86 out of 5  14 reviews

Senior: I like Clear Creek Amana because there are teachers that genuinely care about their students and making sure that they understand the material. For AP courses, there are some teachers that haven't sufficiently prepared their students for the final exam, but they do make themselves available if students need help. CCA has gotten rid of several AP courses since not enough students have shown interest, illustrating the unwillingness that many students have to challenge themselves. As for extracurriculars, the instrumental music department is very good, as we have received Division I ratings for our marching band, jazz ensemble, and concert bands at state. The sports teams are quite good as well since the cross country team has gone to state and the football team has qualified for state several times. The culture at CCA is very diverse, as there are students from farming backgrounds while others are from more urban areas.... Read 14 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 7

• Students 2,823

• Cedar Rapids, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.13 out of 5  23 reviews

Senior: Overall, I would say that my experience in high school has been very good. I have been given several different opportunities so join different clubs and sports because of my school. I have been able to meet several different people and have so many experiences because of that. Also, I have been able to get a wonderful education at my school, I was offered several Ap courses and the teachers helped me with anything I needed. Also, my school allowed me to take several college courses free of charge during the school year. This allowed me to get a head start on college and take more challenging courses. Overall, my experience at Prairie high school has been a positive experience!... Read 23 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 10

• Students 5,669

• Vinton, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.77 out of 5  13 reviews

Senior: Overall they provided a good experience with great opportunities for both educational and recreational growth. The majority of the teachers taught in a way that passed the information required to the students in a fun and interesting way. However, there are a few teachers in particular that are either lazy, uninterested, unfit for the job in terms of knowledge of the subject or ability to teach and handle kids, with a couple teachers being downright sinister and succeeds in making the class a horrible experience. Although the teachers with qualities i've just described are rare, they definitely exist and seem to be on the rise. There are a lot of "average" teachers that seem to be hired just because of the fact they coach for school sports. Sports are another thing that I feel have some ups and downs. I feel overall that the sports and extracurricular activities are very positive, with the team or group being able to work well together despite many of their poor records. .... Read 13 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,502

• Troy Mills, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.29 out of 5  7 reviews

Senior: I loved my experience at North Linn. I have been provided with endless opportunities due to the caring staff and small class sizes. It is very hard to come up with anytbing to change about my school, but I did wish we had more diversity within it! Overall, North Linn is a nice, caring school with an outstanding community!... Read 7 reviews

• grade B

• Total schools 3

• Students 568

• Van Horne, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.91 out of 5  33 reviews

Senior: Benton Community is a very safe place to learn. I have learned a lot from going here. The connections you make and establish will last for a lifetime. It is a safe enough place to tell anything to at least one person at my school. I have not only grown academically, but physically and mentally going to this school. I have grown stronger as a person and I thank my school for that. It taught me to be a leader and go outside of my bubble. Being a leader is a skill that takes time and commitment. I have been very involved with the school ever since my freshman years. From sports, to academics, to choir and ensembles, show choir, and volunteer activities. I thank Benton Community for all the opportunities they give while being a student here. I am very excited for what the future holds, and can gladly say that I am proud to be a Bobcat. I really do feel they set me up for success for the future. I am ready for the next phase in my life!... Read 33 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 5

• Students 1,617

• Alburnett, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.82 out of 5  11 reviews

Senior: I've been a student at Alburnett for 13 years and I have loved every year. I do think they could work on a few things such as focusing more on the student, and one on one work with students and listening to students about how they feel about certain projects or idea's the student might have. The teachers are kind and caring and very good at letting the student know they are cared about in and outside of school, students feel welcomed when they walk in the doors of the high school and or elementary thought all my years I felt loved and cared about and my opinion was important to others in the school even the nurse, janitorial staff and librarians gave me a reason to come to school. My favorite memory from Alburnett was when I didn't want to go out for recess the librarian let me come in and work with her and restock the bookshelves and taught me it's okay to be different than others and march to your own beat and not be the same as everyone else.... Read 11 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 706

• Washington, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.8 out of 5  15 reviews

Alum: Washington prepared me to succeed in college as well as in the real world. Both the school and community are so great I couldn't wait to move back to live and raise our kids in the community. Brand new high school, brand new 7.5 Million auditorium, brand new childcare center, 1:1 for everyone, Technology, technology, technology, almost every athletic facility is brand new or recently renovated and the teachers are the best!... Read 15 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 4

• Students 1,644

• Tipton, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 4.67 out of 5  6 reviews

Alum: I really loved the small town aspect Tipton has to offer. The staff all really care about each student and the school is very welcoming. The community is very supportive of the students, athletes and fine arts students combined.... Read 6 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 3

• Students 977

• Springville, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.75 out of 5  4 reviews

Senior: The size of Springville is small but the opportunities they create are amazing. Athletics, fine arts, stem programs, they have it all. They join with Kirkwood Community College to offer college courses for Juniors and Seniors. Their teachers care about their students and the administration is involved in coaching and other activities so they are really part of the student body. All the students, from elementary to high school support and interact with each other. I think it is a solid school and offers success to every student.... Read 4 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 434

• Belle Plaine, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.75 out of 5  8 reviews

Parent: Belle Plaine is a small school with small class sizes, so students are provided with excellent teacher to student ratios.... Read 8 reviews

• grade B minus

• Total schools 2

• Students 488

• Lisbon, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3.86 out of 5  7 reviews

Senior: I love that it is K-12 all in one building. I have been going here all my life. There is a sense of pride and tradition that runs deep in this school. I also love all of the staff. I have great connections with many of the staff members even with ones I haven't had classes with for a long time. I do with the administration would care more about fine arts and women's sports at times though.... Read 7 reviews

• grade C+

• Total schools 3

• Students 703

• Stanwood, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3 out of 5  1 review

• grade C+

• Total schools 3

• Students 631

• West Branch, IA•

• School District

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  Rating 3 out of 5  7 reviews

Alum: I like saying that I come from West Branch High School. The community is so involving and I have made so many important relationships at West Branch. Being able to take online courses through Kirkwood Community College and taking classes at the Regional Center really prepared me for what college was going to be like. I played a variety of sports at West Branch and was involved in some of the Fine Arts. West Branch is very inclusive and every team felt like a family no matter how good or bad we performed. The staff and faculty were always caring towards me and helped me through a lot of things including finding colleges to look at.... Read 7 reviews

• grade C+

• Total schools 3

• Students 829