Experience CMS

• EACH student is known at CMS: Each student is assigned to a team with a common set of teachers and students to maximize relationship building. It’s how we provide a small-school experience.
• Safety is our priority: Our supportive school culture among staff and students combined with significant security measures provide a safe learning environment, which is why 98% of students surveyed report feeling safe at school.
• Outstanding teachers: Our teachers are loved by our parent community with a 97% approval rating among parents district-wide.  
• Personalized Learning: At CMS, we believe each learner has unique talents and gifts. Through personalized learning, teachers work to understand, care for and nurture student strengths, while students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and explore their interests and passions.
• 4Cs: Our teaching practices emphasize the 4Cs: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. These are the skills essential for both career and citizenship.
• Gifted Services: Students have access to our comprehensive gifted programming options, including our rigorous continuation of the elementary MOSAIC program.
• Orchestra, choir and band: Students are invited to engage in one or more of our musical education opportunities.
• Excellent course offerings: Our variety of challenging courses allows students to consistently progress at a pace that is right for each individual, potentially earning high school credits.
• Exceptional technology: Teachers and students utilize a variety of technology tools to enhance each student’s learning experience.

CMS Mission

The Mission of Eden Prairie Schools is to inspire each student to learn continuously so they are empowered to reach personal fulfillment and contribute purposefully to our ever-changing world.

CMS Philosophy 

We believe that education is important, that teachers are professionals, and that the school is a valid institution of learning. Education provides for physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth for each unique middle school student. Developmentally, middle school students are in varied stages of physical change and they experience emotional uncertainties including an increasing sense of isolation as well as a need to belong. Intellectually, they eagerly test new skills and knowledge while also seeking security and encouragement. Our school responds with a positive learning environment that provides for individual differences.

In addition, the middle school is a transition between elementary school and high school. CMS offers a nurturing learning environment that encourages growing independence and exploration while students develop habits, attitudes, skills, appreciations, and ideas essential for a lifetime of learning. We provide a caring, exciting, challenging, and comforting environment. We strive to provide a model for responsible adult behavior while allowing for the activity of youthful enthusiasm.

CMS is a vital part of the total community. We encourage a partnership among school, home, and the greater community by encouraging involvement, cooperation, responsibility, and communication. CMS empowers its staff to have a substantial impact on the system of learning, and we encourage cooperation, collaboration, innovation, and support among staff members.
The Critical Components of the CMS Program Include:

• Instructional Excellence: We strive to provide experiences where the atmosphere, materials, pace, and flexibility focus each student on success in learning. We strive to vary content presentation, use the 4Cs of Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity, and make modifications to meet the unique needs of each student. We recognize students for achievement, growth, leadership, and service.
• Exploration: We provide a wide range of intellectual, physical, and cultural activities with opportunities to take risks, discover, and experiment. We encourage participatory learning, divergent as well as convergent thinking, and exploration of a variety of co-curricular activities, career options, and subject areas. The CMS staff encourages this belief through the use of innovation and exploration within a 21st Century context of learning.
• Comprehensive Curriculum: We value the integration of learning in English, math, social studies, science, fine and related arts, and physical education. We recognize, celebrate, and encourage creativity in both basic skills and exploratory learning experiences. We value the process of learning as well as the end result. We encourage continued exploration into new, evolving curriculum.
• Continual pursuit of personal goals and aspirations: We strive to develop self-directed, lifelong learners who enthusiastically accept the challenge of their future with confidence and competence. Students assume increasing responsibility for their own academic, social, and personal learning. Students learn to solve problems, make decisions, manage time, set goals, work in groups, respond to change, and cope with positive and negative experiences.
• Contribution to Community (local to global): We encourage and model honesty, responsibility, compassion, cooperativeness, creativity, and competency. We expect students to respect themselves and others, tolerate ambiguity, recognize human equity, and understand global and multicultural concepts. We support positive student involvement in school, home, community, and world projects.
• Guidance: We are a caring community. We seek to create a more intimate environment attuned to each student’s needs. The focus on creating smaller communities fosters stable, close, respectful relationships with adults and peers. Within the school, teachers, advisors, counselors, support staff, and administrators serve as resources for meeting students’ personal needs. Finally, we recognize that all adults in the school model appropriate behaviors and attitudes.

The Core Values of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports System (PBIS) focus on three character pillars – Be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Kind. All students work together with their classroom teachers and staff to embed these traits into our everyday learning at Central Middle School. Our commitment to PBIS helps develop our students into outstanding community members.

• Our test scores are consistently above the state average.
• Well over 60% of our students enroll in one or more Enriched, Advanced or Honors courses.

From athletics and the arts to student clubs and organizations, there are exciting opportunities for each student. The clubs and activities offered reflect the voices and interests of our students. Learn more about the variety of activities available to your student on our CMS Activities page. 

CMS and the Parent Teacher Organization work collaboratively to enhance the educational environment for our students. The PTO helps fund personalized learning spaces, student field trips, staff grants, and staff appreciation, as well as team and character building activities throughout our school. All families are invited to participate in our major fundraiser that takes place during the school year. We encourage our families to be involved in the CMS Community.

Tours can be scheduled by filling out the form at this link.

Tours are typically scheduled one day each week. If you would like more information relating to Central Middle School tours please reach out to Nicole Schandle at nschandle@edenpr.org or 952-975-7315.