She was pushing a stroller with her first child as we ducked into corners of the school building that were clearly bringing back a flood of memories. So the accuracy of this particular memory is as reliable as that of a former student gazing back across the years.

She remembered a time in that first year when the fledgling Mounds Park Academy needed a mascot. What to do? How to choose? In true MPA fashion, it was decided to leave the decision up to the students. Who better to make the ultimate decision about what kind of animal would come to embody the MPA spirit?

“We had a contest,” Sandra remembered, “to determine what animal would be the official school mascot.” The two finalist candidates were the worm and the panther.

Here’s the part we get to find out about tonight – the 25th anniversary celebration. (If you’re reading this Thursday afternoon and haven’t gotten your ticket, there may still be room, but it’s a pretty full house!)  

“I think Mr. Kreischer might have ‘cooked’ the final tally. You see,” Sandra explained, “in the first year of MPA, we were a K-9 school and most of the students were younger – Lower School aged. I think that a majority of the students might have voted for the worm.”

So if you’re Bob Kreischer and you are imagining the winning MPA teams of the future, the idea of cheering on the Fighting Worms just doesn’t cut it. You know that those same Lower School students that voted for the cute and friendly worm will grow into high schoolers more likely to be inspired by a fierce, combative panther.

On the other hand, there is the core ideal of democracy in the school, of letting students create their own meaning, of having some control over their own destiny. What does experiential learning mean, after all, if students are not allowed to really learn from their own experiences? What’s a founding leader to do?

Or is it all Sandra’s imagination? Was the panther truly the fair and square winner?   

Find out tonight as we put the question to Founding Director and First Panther – Bob Kreischer. (or check this space tomorrow for an update!)