August 13, 2020
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
With the beginning of the school year less than two weeks away, I find myself increasingly excited to greet our returning students and ever so eager to welcome our outstanding new students. No matter how many years as an educator, the start of a new school year is as exhilarating to me as it is to a new teacher. This year is no different. And yet, the year ahead will be different and will present challenges that we will collectively need to overcome.
As I reflected on a guiding theme for this year, I kept coming back to the importance of resiliency. Perhaps I was influenced by the life and death of U.S. Representative and Civil Rights hero John Lewis several weeks ago. Like many, the depth of my sadness in his passing was buoyed by reflecting on the impact he had over the course of his life. Mr. Lewis suffered life-threatening setbacks and faced hardship that many of us cannot imagine. However, he developed the resiliency necessary to persevere and succeed. Read More
The MPA COVID-19 planning and implementation process is focused on risk-reduction with a multi-layered approach to reducing the risk of transmission when students and staff return to campus. Our planning process is grounded in a variety of quantitative and qualitative considerations as we consider moving our return to school dial. The quantitative metrics have been vetted by our MPA Community Advisory Group and outside professionals that have developed COVID-19 transmission and testing data in order to understand the local conditions and community spread.
MPA recognizes every community member holds a dual wish of continuing the high-quality educational opportunities families have come to know and expect, while also maintaining health, safety, and wellness for themselves and others. Our symptom and case response protocols are designed with these shared values and goals at the center of our approach. Some families have asked specific questions about what will happen if someone develops symptoms, tests positive, or is potentially exposed on campus. Like so many parts of this pandemic, there is not a one-size-fits all solution for each case. Through our team of medical advisors and the MPA Community Advisory Group, we have developed a detailed and multi-pronged approach to symptom response, contact tracing, and confirmed cases. We will deploy a swift, personal, and private response that is taken through our 49-point COVID-19 response flow chart, which helps our contact tracing and response team to effectively manage each step along the way. Our team will also partner and work hand-in-hand with the Minnesota Department of Health and other local officials should the need arise.
We’re delighted to welcome Cory Becker-Kim to the MPA faculty and staff to fill the role of international student program coordinator as Sarah McFarland transitions to teaching English in our Middle School.
MPA seventh graders Teagan O. and Ida L. have been working together this summer to bring a virtual awareness to different problems that are impacting the environment. They are on a mission to generate change, and are currently building a website to mobilize others. With this platform, they plan to use their voices, connect with others, and make a positive impact on our community and world.
We recognize there are many details related to starting school this year that MPA families need to attend to.To help you stay organized, we are providing this handy checklist to ensure that you don’t miss any of the essential action items.
Just as they were this spring, Town Hall meetings will be used as an important way for our community to connect, learn, and get their questions answered, both PreK-12 and by division. The information shared in these Town Hall meetings will support the written communication being shared regularly. Recordings will be distributed afterward should you not be able to attend!
As the new school year approaches, the MPA Upper School Student Council launched their first issue of their new monthly newsletter! Named “The StudCo Scoop,” it will be sent out to all Upper School students and faculty on the last Friday of each month and will include updates on school-wide activities. “Learning to navigate this new learning environment will require diligent communication, and that is what we hope to accomplish with this publication,” they said.
The MPA Alumni Mentorship Program completed its second year full of meaningful connections and a successful networking event to conclude the year. The program is designed to enhance personal and professional development experiences for our senior class students, while also providing alumni with an opportunity to reconnect to MPA and share their own experiences and knowledge with the next generation of graduates.
PreK Students