In a statement released Thursday by the Mid-Prairie School Board, the district has moved through the initial phase of the search for a replacement for Superintendent Mark Schneider. In a collective effort with Grundmeyer Leader Services (GLS), the district posted the job opening from March 15th to April 9th, receiving information from 22 interested candidates. The pool includes 21 male and one female candidate. Three of those interested hold doctorate degrees in education or philosophy, six have five or more years of administrative experience, 21 of the 22 candidates were from Iowa and all candidates were external.

Using results from an online public survey hosted on the school website and composed by GLS, desired qualifications including candidates being approachable and welcoming, acting with integrity, recruiting, hiring, supporting, developing and retaining staff, building school and community relations, promoting a community of care and support for students, modeling the district mission, vision and core values, managing district resources and engaging meaningfully with families and community members will be topics of discussion with interested candidates during future portions of the interview process. 

All of the candidates were presented to the board in closed session Wednesday and eight were selected for screening interviews scheduled for April 25th. The screening process will be used to narrow the field to two to three finalists. From there, the board will reach out to more than 40 community members and district stakeholders to serve on a formal interview team for the finalists on Monday, May 9th.

Schneider’s last day with the district is June 30th.