“If you could have me do one thing in my role as head of school to make MPA a better place, what would it be?” The most common response to that question among all the seniors I asked in my first year at MPA was “to attract a more diverse student body.”

This year, MPA finally reached a milestone goal that was set by the Board of Trustees almost ten years ago.  During the 1997-98 school year, MPA’s student population included under 9% students of color. The following year, the goal the Board set was to double that over time to 18% students of color. For the first time, school opened this fall with a student of color population of 18.5%, reaching and surpassing that goal set back in 1998.

“That was my freshman year on the Board,” writes veteran Board member and MPA parent Richard Dana. “Back then, very few people would have had reason to believe that a suburban independent school in Minnesota could ever achieve that level of diversity.  It continues to be characteristic of MPA that our goals and commitments are not limited by any conservative probability of success; rather it is a steadfast, uninhibited determination to do more, be more, achieve more that will propel us forward.  Again and again MPA has redefined what is possible, and my guess is that we'll continue to push the envelope whenever it really matters.” 

Nansee Greeley, current Lower School Director and long-time advocate for diversity at MPA, wrote that “one of the reasons we brought our children to MPA from the more homogeneous community of White Bear Lake was that we wanted our children introduced to a wide variety of people, cultures, races, religions and communities. I am delighted that we have reached the goal of 18% students of color at MPA, but I know that it will not be the end of our efforts towards a diverse community.”

To be sure, skin color is only one aspect of a “diverse community.” In addition, there are different ways of quantifying the percentage of “people of color” in a community like ours. Do you ask your community members to self-identify, or do you use other available evidence to make the determination? Ever since MPA began tracking data on students of color, the latter method has been used.

This past year, in addition to the standard method, a survey was distributed to all MPA families with a request to self-identify on a number of different aspects. With approximately 75% of families returning the survey, the results are not comprehensive and they are a reflection of last year’s community, rather than this year’s. But the results are almost identical to those of our standard method of tracking data. 

And in the final analysis, the true meaning of a diverse community is not to be found in a simple reduction to percentages. The Board is to be applauded for acknowledging the importance of setting a clear target, and many people at many levels of the school are to be commended for the hard work it has taken to reach this goal. But it is really just a start.

As then-Board member Anne Petersen put it, the true goal was “to make MPA a reflection of the world around us. If we can look down the hall and see students, parents and staff representing the wide diversity of the world around us, that is a true start towards a global perspective.  When we no longer think of the world in terms of percentages and outward appearances, we will have succeeded in creating a place where the differences aren't the defining characteristics of diversity.”

Following the Board’s initial vote to reach this goal, a diversity task force was established to support that work. “It's hard to believe that just a few years ago it seemed nearly impossible to achieve the diversity goals set by the Board of Trustees,” writes former task force member and current Board Chair Nancy Misra. “Now, anyone looking up and down our halls and at names on lockers knows that the student body of MPA represents a much broader spectrum of people than it did a decade ago.  We are a richer school that is more clearly dedicated to teaching and learning about the broader world as a result. I look forward to the ways our students, and our community as a whole, will grow and learn in this richer environment.”

As is clear from the seniors I spoke to, the students on the ground really understand how important this is as they prepare to go off to college and life beyond. With this year’s milestone accomplishment, MPA continues on a journey to better reflect the world in which our graduates will live, prosper and become forces for good.