Author: Jim Bayer

More than 2,000 students and staff will walk through the doors of Central Middle School (CMS) Sept. 8 and be greeted by a completely renovated building with new classrooms, a new gym and a whole new grade level. Sixth graders who would normally be the big kids on the block at their former elementary schools will now be the youngest in a school of 1,900 students. Sixth grade students will be required to wear masks indoors as part of the district’s COVID-19 mitigation strategy. The building’s design and students’ schedules will limit contact between them and 7th and 8th graders…

Central Middle School (CMS) students who participate on high school sports teams this fall and the rest of the school year likely will be late for practices and need to leave school early to go to games thanks to the change in school hours this year. Leaving school early to attend practices or games will be left to the 30 to 40 CMS students who participate in high school sports, their parents and their teachers to figure out, according to Brett Johnson, senior director of community relations and communications. Otherwise, Johnson doesn’t expect a lot to change for CMS students…

Beth Fletcher, who was elected to the Eden Prairie School Board in Nov. 2020 and elected vice chair, has announced her intention to resign her board seat early this school year due to a move to Atlanta, Georgia. In her letter to Superintendent Josh Swanson and board members, Fletcher said that “…a very sudden and amazing opportunity was offered to our family and we have accepted.” Fletcher said her actual resignation date is still up in the air. “My official last day has yet to be determined,” she said, “as this is all happening very quickly, and we don’t know…

The Eden Prairie School Board’s Aug. 23 meeting agenda suggests that another board member resignation may be on the horizon. The board agenda item “Required Board Action” has a single item beneath it: Resignation of Board Member. When asked on Aug. 19 to elaborate, district Senior Director of Community Relations and Communications Brett Johnson said he had nothing further to add. “I do not have details, like you, I’ve been informed it will be discussed on Monday,” he said in an email. If it turns out that another board member is resigning, it would be the second resignation from the board in…

Eden Prairie Schools will be open five days a week for in-person learning for all students beginning Sept. 8, according to a statement released by the district Aug. 17. But after considering COVID-19 case rates and vaccination and transmission rates, the district has decided that students from early childhood through sixth grade will be required to wear face coverings, while just recommending that students in grades 7-12 wear them, according to a district statement. COVID-19 vaccine currently is available to children age 12 and up, which may not include all sixth graders. All staff will be required to wear face…

Alarm clocks will be going off all over Eden Prairie in less than four weeks. At that time, households will begin adjusting to new school start times. The bottom line: when school starts Sept. 8, Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) and Central Middle School (CMS) students will be starting later in the morning. Eden Prairie elementary students will start earlier. In January 2021, Superintendent Josh Swanson made the final decision on the time changes. The decision was made in consultation with a community task force, the school board, and recommendations from other district staff, while considering public input and expert…

Five candidates have filed to run for the vacant school board seat to be filled in the Nov. 2 special election. Filing ended Aug. 10 at 5 p.m. Candidates are: Steven Bartz, Albert Born, Michelle Mattison, Francesca Pagán-Umar, and Darryl Stanton.  Pagán-Umar was the fourth highest vote getter in the November 2020 election. She had been favored by some community members to fill the temporary seat until the election. None of the other candidates ran for the three open seats during the 2020 election. Veronica Stoltz resigned her board seat in May when her family decided to leave Eden Prairie.…

Eden Prairie Schools continue to plan for different scenarios for COVID-19 mitigation efforts when school begins this fall, including the use of masks indoors, according to a district spokesman. The district has not announced which way it will go, choosing instead to continue working with state and county health agencies. The district is reviewing recent guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), according to Brett Johnson, district senior director of community relations and communications. “The connection to state and county public health agencies are important because they help us understand both our…

Eden Prairie’s Arctic Blast finished its season Aug. 1 with a 3-2 record in bracket play at the NAFA Northern Nationals, eliminated by Minnesota Twisters Red. The Wisconsin Bandits who defeated the Blast in the 4th round of bracket play went on to win the Silver Division championship. The Arctic Blast finished in 5th place. The Blast beat Waite Park Blue and Falls Angels Saturday before falling to the Bandits Saturday night. Their season ended with an 8-4 loss to Twisters Red Sunday. The Blast won the championship at the Hutchinson tournament, finished third at the USA Northern Nationals and finished their…

Eden Prairie’s Arctic Blast defeated the Wisconsin’s Onalaska Force 12-1 on July 30 in the first round of bracket play in the NAFA North Nationals 18-and-under girls fastpitch tournament. The tournament is being held at Miller Park in Eden Prairie and Chaska Community Park. After going 1-2 in pool play July 29, the Blast landed in the tournament’s 30-team Silver Division. The Blast sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth inning against the Force, scoring six runs on three hits and assisted by two Force errors. Shortstop Tanna Peterson went 3-for-4, centerfielder Alexa Mann went 3-for-5, and first…