Author: Jim Bayer

Zoe Hendrickson expected to start this school year as a 7th grader at Central Middle School (CMS). Instead, she has spent school days since last September at home with her 6th grader sister, Ava, doing classwork on EP Online. Zoe, 13, and Ava, 11, are not alone – 2,500 Eden Prairie students and their families elected not to return to school last fall due after a spring of distance learning last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the district’s secondary students join K-6 students back in the classroom March 22, Eden Prairie Schools is diving head first into the online…

Eden Prairie Schools Eden Prairie Schools reports updated 14-day COVID-19 cases among students and staff every Friday. EPLN will report that information every other week. 2/28 – 3/12 Staff – 1 case Students – 14 cases (Note: Eden Prairie Schools has 1,825 staff members and 8,768 students. Total staff is all district employees, including coaches, advisors, and reserve staff.) City of Eden Prairie/Hennepin County and Surrounding Cities Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie report 14-day COVID positive rates per 10,000 residents. EPLN will report information for Eden Prairie, Hennepin County and a few cities contiguous to Eden…

Lauren Scherer, a seventh grade pre-algebra and science teacher at Central Middle School (CMS), has been named a semi-finalist for 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Scherer, in her fifth year teaching at CMS, describes her teaching style as “theatrical” and has cats named Pythagoras and Fibonacci – a tip of the hat to her area of expertise. “I strive to build the confidence within students so that they feel they can conquer any challenge presented to them,” she told EPLN recently. “I believe that math is fun and beautiful and that reframing math in an approachable manner is the key to student…

Hennepin County has relented on its plan to restripe Baker Road to three lanes following the Eden Prairie City Council’s unanimous recommendation March 2 to leave the road as it is. Resurfacing of the road between Martin Drive in Eden Prairie and the I-494 bridge in Minnetonka will move forward this summer, but it will be striped in its current four-lane configuration, according to a March 4 post on the county’s website. The project includes construction of pedestrian curb ramps that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. “Later in 2021 spring and summer, we will being work to upgrade pedestrian…

Central Middle School’s (CMS) new 700-seat theater will be known as the Performing Arts Center (PAC), or, in short “CMS PAC”. The Eden Prairie School Board unanimously approved the recommendation of a school-based advisory group at its Feb. 22 meeting. CMS students, staff and parents were surveyed earlier this year to generate a list of important words to be included in the theater’s name. A second round of surveys resulted in the final recommendation. CMS Principal Nathan Swenson expressed some surprise at the results, but said, “This was clearly the preferred option.” Swenson downplayed concerns about potential confusion with the…

A slight majority of residents who submitted comments on the proposed three-lane restriping of Baker Road between Valley View Road and County Road 62 are in favor of the change, according to Hennepin County Transportation Planning Division Manager Chad Ellos. The county is planning to resurface County Road 60, which is comprised of segments of Mitchell Road south of Valley View and Baker Road north of Valley View. The three-lane restriping is planned between St. Andrews Drive just north of Valley View and Pinnacle Drive, just south of County Road 62. Restriping of the existing roadway, which currently has two…

Eden Prairie 7th to 12th graders are headed back to in-person learning March 22, according to a notice posted Feb. 23 on the district’s web site. Superintendent Josh Swanson kept the promise he made at the Feb. 22 school board meeting to make an announcement within a couple of days. He did it within 24 hours. The return coincides with the beginning of the school year’s fourth academic term. Students will be in school each day Monday through Thursday. Friday will be a virtual learning day. In order to prepare classrooms and schools for the transition, there is no school…

Eden Prairie Schools Eden Prairie Schools reports updated 14-day COVID-19 cases among students and staff every Friday. Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) will report that information every other week. 2/5 – 2/19 Staff – 1 cases Students – 7 cases (Note: Eden Prairie Schools has 1,825 staff members and 8,768 students. Total staff is all district employees, including coaches, advisors, and reserve staff.) City of Eden Prairie/Hennepin County and Surrounding Cities Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie report 14-day COVID positive rates per 10,000 residents. EPLN will report information for Eden Prairie, Hennepin County and a few cities…

(Editor’s note: Eden Prairie Schools announced the change this article refers to not long after publication. An updated article on the announced changes can be found here. ) Eden Prairie 7th to 12th graders are headed back to in-person learning, according to Superintendent Josh Swanson. The only question right now is exactly when. Swanson said at the Feb. 22 school board meeting that he would be making a more detailed announcement to families “in the next day or two.” The district began looking at the latest transition after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced last week that secondary students in the…

Casey Ostdiek’s favorite time of the Eden Lake Elementary school day is called closing circle and it consists of three A’s – apologies, affirmations and announcements. “Students have the opportunity to have closure to any unresolved issues,” she said. “It is so powerful to hear someone apologize to their peer and then hear their peer accept the apology in return.” The closing circle is about listening and making connections with students, she said. Ostdiek and the two other Eden Prairie teachers nominated for 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year seem to share those attributes. Ostdiek is joined by Courtney Heinz…