Community forum with CMS principal candidates set for May 14

Central Middle School (CMS) is seeking community involvement in hiring a new principal to replace Felicia Thames, who will move to an assistant superintendent role next school year.

Community members, including staff, students and families, are invited to a public forum on Tuesday, May 14, from 5:45 to 8 p.m. in the CMS cafeteria to meet the three final candidates for the role. Candidates will introduce themselves, discuss their interest in the role, and respond to questions.

Interpretation services in Spanish and Somali and light snacks will be available.

Grace Becker, director of marketing and communications for EP Schools, said, “The leader of Central Middle School has a big impact on our students at a critical point in their lives, and it was important to us to raise the voices of our families and staff members in that selection process. We hope to have many members of our community join us and help to choose the best next leader for CMS.”

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The Community Conversation will follow a similar format to the one used in April in the search for a new Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) principal. Candidates will answer questions submitted in advance by the community, followed by a few submitted live by the audience. Community members can RSVP and submit questions here.

As with the EPHS forum, attendees who can stay for the entire event will have the opportunity to score candidates’ answers to these questions. The hiring team will consider those scores, as well as feedback from CMS faculty leaders, students and school leadership, as it determines who will move forward to a final interview with the Superintendent’s Cabinet the week of May 20.  

Becker said, “Feedback from the EPHS Principal Community Conversation was overwhelmingly positive, both what we heard in person and what was shared with us later via an attendee survey.

“We asked attendees to rate the event on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being excellent, and the average rating was a 4.6. Seventy-nine percent said the Community Conversation increased their trust in Eden Prairie High School and/or Eden Prairie Schools, and 93% said that the Community Conversation made them feel engaged in selecting a new leader for EPHS.”

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The community conversation will be one of several interactions the candidates will have with the EP Schools community on May 14.

Earlier that day, they will meet one-on-one with students, who will talk about CMS with candidates and share what they are looking for in their next principal. Students and candidates will also ask each other questions.

Then, CMS faculty leaders will be invited to hear candidates’ presentations, give feedback, and exchange questions with the candidates. Additionally, candidates will participate in an interview panel with the school’s site administrators. 


The community forum will be the final group event of the day for candidates, who will end the day in a debrief session with EP Schools Superintendent Josh Swanson and Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Robb Virgin.