The Iowa City Community School District is slowing down the progression of implementing academy schools in the education system.

The discussion of academy schools first began on Sept. 3 when the school district announced its new plan titled “Re-Envisioning Our Elementary Schools.”

According to the district’s website, academy schools are “specialized public schools that offer unique programs to attract a diverse student body. Possible focuses include Performing Arts, World Languages/Language Immersion, Leadership, and STEM.”

According to the projected timeline, this school year, the Iowa City Community School District is planning to research and visit established academy schools. The selection and preparation for academy schools will then take place during the 2025-26 school year, with two selected elementary schools opening as academy schools during the 2026-27 school year.

The plan highlights several advantages to academy schools, such as a specialized curriculum with focused programs, diverse learning environments, innovative teaching methods, more consistent class sizes, and others.

The “Re-Envisioning Our Elementary Schools” plan also includes several other initiatives along with academy schools.

One plan is to create paired schools, which is when two elementary schools with lower enrollment numbers merge. One of the schools would host preschool through second grade students, while the other would host third through fifth grade students. The other plan would be to create early childhood centers teaching 3- and 4-year-olds.

However, at a board meeting on Sept. 24, the district’s superintendent Matt Degner addressed community concerns and spoke on the progression of all the initiatives.

“I understand that our initial messaging caused many of you stress and frustration,” Degner said in the meeting. “As your superintendent, I’ve decided to revisit the process we laid out at our meeting and, most importantly, collect some more information and slow down.”

Degner also sent out a recent statement to families and staff in the district to provide more information and updates.

“As we continue working to ensure that we make thoughtful and informed decisions, gathering some additional data from independent experts and more information about our budget projections will be essential before proceeding with the committee’s development,” Degner wrote.

Iowa City Community School District Board Member Jayne Finch committees will be formed later in the year after more data is collected.

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Finch said the academy schools are being proposed by the administration to attract and retain students. Finch said having the academy schools be more like a “school within a school,” where a smaller, specialized school is housed inside an existing elementary with space to spare should be something the committees should consider exploring.

“This process necessitates community involvement and careful consideration of the data, the timeline of which will likely extend beyond what was originally proposed,” Finch said.

Board Vice President Molly Abraham emphasized the importance of demographic data to project future school populations and enrollment trends concerning academy schools. She also spoke on what makes academy schools appealing to the district and families.

“Iowa City schools already carry a reputation of being very strong schools all across the district, and our academic achievement speaks to that and so on,” Abraham said, “It’d be just one more thing that would bring people to Iowa City schools or keep them in Iowa City schools.”

Abraham said the board will receive more feedback from the demographer along with community comment sessions at school board meetings, emails, and surveys from parents.

However, Abraham said she is personally not a fan of implementing academy schools for a variety of reasons.

“[Students] would have to go through an application process. I just think we do such a great job of offering great things to all our kids,” Abraham said. “Why would we just offer certain things to a group of kids that apply, and their families have the wherewithal to get them to an academy school?”

Nonetheless, Abraham said academy schools could possibly help students begin a path that’s going to lead to more education and a career in an area that students find appealing. If academy schools are created, Abraham hopes for better educational and career outcomes for students.

The school district and board of directors will continue to discuss the implementation of academy schools over the next three years as they conduct research.

“We understand the importance of building trust and transparency, and this process will be no different,” Degner wrote. “Comprehensive data from professionals and increased time to better understand our budget reality will allow for more informed, thoughtful discussions.”