HISTORY
CVMS was founded in 1971 by a group of Cedar Rapids parents seeking a high-quality preschool education for their children. Starting with ten children in the basement of the school building in the Immaculate Conception Church in southeast Cedar Rapids, our school has steadily grown to its current size of over 100 students.
Over the years, we’ve had many homes:
- 1971-1978 Immaculate Conception, SE Cedar Rapids
- 1979 Eisenhower Elementary School, NE Cedar Rapids
- 1980-1996 Washington Elementary School, Marion
- 1997-2007 Transit Way, Ground Transportation Center, downtown Cedar Rapids
- 2008-2010 First Baptist Church –Church of the Brethren Childcare Center, NE Cedar Rapids
- June 2010 Transit Way, Ground Transportation Center, downtown Cedar Rapids
In June of 2008, downtown Cedar Rapids was hit by a devastating flood. CVMS was swamped with eight feet of water. Five ground-floor classrooms, our offices, childcare room and outdoor play area were submerged. Much of our specialized educational materials, books, furniture, equipment and files were destroyed. Total losses were estimated at $318,000.
Quick action and outstanding efforts by our staff and parents found the school a temporary space in the education wing of the First Baptist Church –Church of the Brethren at 5200 Northland Ave. NE where we remained for 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 school years.
The City of Cedar Rapids, owners of the Transit Way location, received funding from FEMA to restore the building to its pre-flood condition. CVMS parents and staff raised additional moneys to bring our school back better than ever with additional classrooms for our Toddler Community and an indoor gymnasium. We returned to our downtown location for the start of fall 2010/2011 classes.
