Lawrence’s superintendent has selected an assistant principal at a Blue Valley middle school to become the next Central Junior High School principal, the Lawrence district announced in a news release this morning.

After finalists met with groups of school staff, parents and students earlier this week, Superintendent Randy Weseman has chosen Anna Stubblefield, who is in her sixth year at Prairie Star Middle School, for the position.

The Lawrence school board has to approve the choice. Central’s current principal, Frank Harwood, will become the district’s division technology director in July.

Stubblefield has earned two degrees from Kansas University.

“During one of my first courses in education I observed at Central, and after my observation, I knew that I wanted to be an educator,” she said in a statement released by the district. “I witnessed a staff that was committed to the students, and I experienced being a part of a group that had a rich history and a school full of traditions. I’m looking forward to working collaboratively with the staff, students, parents and community to continue the tradition of excellence.”

Weseman said Stubblefield showed the ability to focus on students as an instructional leader, in addition to having credentials as an “exceptional teacher, coach and assistant principal.”

“All three Central advisory committees felt that she’s a great match for their school,” he said.

Seventh-grade geography teacher Carolyn Montney, an advisory committee member, said the school was lucky to have a strong field of candidates so late in the school year.

“Mrs. Stubblefield did a fabulous job in the interview; she was poised, professional and seemed to put the needs of students first. She appeared genuinely interested in being a part of the Central community.”

Robbie Derritt, a leader of Central’s parent group, said all of the candidates showed quality, which made the process difficult.

“I felt that Mrs. Stubblefield did a perfect job with the interview and came out shining,” he said. “She has a lot of experience with students of diverse backgrounds and abilities, from high achievers to students with many challenges.”

Before coming to the Blue Valley district, Stubblefield previously taught for four years in the Center school district, where she also coached basketball and track. Stubblefield earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at KU and her educational specialist’s degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She is completing her doctorate at Saint Louis University. In addition to performing classroom observations at Central as a KU student, Stubblefield’s stepson also attended Central.