09/01/2026
Meet David Hayes, 8th grade social studies teacher at Franklin Middle School CR. Being a middle school teacher wasn’t always part of his plan. In fact, he once thought middle school was the age group he did not want to teach.
Then he became a building substitute at Franklin.
“I was somebody who was like, ‘No, I don’t want middle school,’” Hayes laughed. “Then I was the building sub here last year, and I was like, ‘Wait. These kids are amazing. I want to be part of that.’”
This school year, Hayes is back at Franklin. This time with a classroom of his own.
A Council Bluffs native, Hayes earned his master’s degree in American history and began pursuing teaching while he and his wife were living in southern Indiana. He started as a substitute teacher with a Job Corps vocational program in Kentucky, where administrators quickly encouraged him to take on a permanent teaching position.
Eventually, his family’s path brought him back to Iowa and, last year, to Franklin. And it didn’t take long for the students to change his perspective on middle school.
Hayes says he enjoys being part of a pivotal time in students’ lives, helping eighth graders navigate their transition and development while discovering more about themselves and the world around them. Social studies provides the perfect avenue for those conversations.
“I love social studies because you learn about people and you learn about how people overcome hardships and great adversity to make things better,” Hayes said. “It helps inspire people today.”
His approach is to make history relatable. When students realize people who lived 200 or 300 years ago wrestled with many of the same challenges people face today, often with far fewer resources, history suddenly feels much more relevant.
“Education is all about making the complex understandable,” Hayes said. “If you can make the complex understandable and relatable, then it becomes a lot more fun for you as the instructor and for the students.”
But what truly convinced Hayes that Franklin was where he belonged wasn’t a lesson. It was a student.
When Hayes started subbing at Franklin, one student regularly challenged him. Over time, Hayes kept showing up, building trust and developing a relationship with the student.
Then came the first day of this school year.
“As soon as he saw me, he ran down the stairs, gave me a bear hug and almost tackled me to the ground because he was so excited to see me,” Hayes recalled.
For Hayes, that moment represents what teaching is all about.
“As a sub, I was only in his life maybe two or three days out of the week,” he said. “If you can have that experience as a sub, imagine what you can do as a full-time teacher for a student.”
Now, Hayes hopes others will consider finding their place in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
“I can’t think of anywhere else to teach than Iowa,” he said. “I was born and raised here, and I love Iowa. Cedar Rapids is an amazing town. People are warm and welcoming, and everything you love about Iowa is here in Cedar Rapids.”
And when he isn’t helping Franklin students make connections between the past and present, Hayes enjoys painting, kayaking, fishing, and helping his own kids with their homework.
Pictured in addition to David Hayes in his classroom are some of his paintings displayed there.
