Schools/sports in Cedar Rapids area (Iowa City, Bettendorf: houses, high schools, college)

[titus06]

We are moving from Texas to the CR/IC area and are looking at schools. We are mainly looking for smaller towns, but with good education in the school system and good sports (mainly in basketball/football). We have a junior in high school, so our main priority is finding a good fit for him.

Thanks for your input!

[Dport7674]

I know that Cedar Rapids Washington's football team went to the state championship.

(I know because I watched them beat my nephew's Bettendorf team in the semifinals at the UNI dome. So now my family officially hates Cedar Rapids, lol.)

[ryanlavine]

We're looking at doing the same move from Humble/Northeast Houston. Where y'all moving from?

[titus06]

We are moving from the Dallas area.

[smpliving]

Originally Posted by titus06

We are moving from Texas to the CR/IC area and are looking at schools. We are mainly looking for smaller towns, but with good education in the school system and good sports (mainly in basketball/football). We have a junior in high school, so our main priority is finding a good fit for him.

Thanks for your input!

You really can't go wrong with any of the schools in CR/IC. For a smaller town, I hear Mount Vernon has a very good football team. Linn-Mar, Prairie (College Community district), and Washington High for sports also. Another small town is Solon but I don't know if they feed into West High in IC, which is also good for sports.

[atler8]

Both City & West High Schools of Iowa City are often powerhouses in athletics & so is the much smaller Catholic Regina High in Iowa City.
As for example, here is a link from Wikipedia that specifically highlights not only the athletic but academic & special programs offerings & history of City High School. And as noted there, Sports Illustrated Magazine cited City as the top sports school in Iowa. The citings at the link also note that City has much to offer in the way of academic excellence as well as in arts programs.
The athletic success of all 3 high schools in Iowa City build upon the youth programs that are available in the area that encourage athletic participation & excellence.

[smpliving]

Ditto on City High and Regina. Xavier Catholic High in CR also does well in sports from what I hear.

[Nedibes]

I can vouch for Mount Vernon--it's a great town, with a good school and strong athletics. Solon has its own high school, and does fairly well, I believe.

One thing to keep in mind about Iowa--women's basketball is just about as popular at the high school level as men's; there's a long tradition, going back way before Title IX. Also, in smaller towns some of the less televised sports may be as big as basketball or football--in Mount Vernon, wrestling, volleyball, and even archery are all huge.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Nedibes

I can vouch for Mount Vernon--it's a great town, with a good school and strong athletics. Solon has its own high school, and does fairly well, I believe.

One thing to keep in mind about Iowa--women's basketball is just about as popular at the high school level as men's; there's a long tradition, going back way before Title IX. Also, in smaller towns some of the less televised sports may be as big as basketball or football--in Mount Vernon, wrestling, volleyball, and even archery are all huge.

Ditto on Solon. This school has a long tradition of athletic excellence. Pretty nice town too and within easy driving distance to both CR and IC.