For the third time in less than two months, the Mid-Prairie School District has started the search process to hire a new principal for one of their schools.

Superintendent Mark Schneider says Jay Strickland has submitted his resignation as high school principal effective the end of the school year to take the same position in his hometown of Crawfordsville, Indiana, “The place he grew up in, he graduated from high school there, he actually was a teacher in the community and was a middle school principal there and about three weeks ago the high school principal position came open in Crawfordsville.”

Schneider says Strickland will be missed after serving five years as Golden Hawks’ high school principal and wishes the best for him and his family. He says the application deadline for the position is April 15th with hopes of naming Strickland’s successor by early to mid-May.

Mid-Prairie is also in the midst of hiring a new principal for East Elementary to replace Robin Foster, who will be the new principal for West Elementary. Last month, West Elementary Principal Bill Poock submitted his resignation after eight years effective at the end of the school year to become Director of Teaching and Learning with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency. He says about 20 applications had been submitted as of Tuesday, with interviews of final candidates scheduled for April 8-9 and a hiring decision by mid-April. 

In February, Middle School Principal Marc Pennington submitted his resignation effective at the end of the school year after 10 years to take a position outside of education. Last week, Robert Hruby was tabbed as his replacement. Hruby has been with Cedar Rapids Schools the last four years and has previously worked for Des Moines Public Schools. Hruby will start at Mid-Prairie August 1st.