February 27, 2018
Middle School math teacher
How many years have you been at MPA? 27
What do you love about Mounds Park Academy?
The students. Every day I get to work with students who are curious, motivated, eager to learn, and willing to do the hard work to solve challenging problems. We talk about the joy of learning, but it’s a joy to work with students like this! As a coach, I get to hear positive things about our students from others they encounter. It might be the neighbor who noticed some of our runners stopping to pick up trash at Goodrich, or the bus driver who always looks forward to driving MPA students because they’re the best.
How does Mounds Park Academy nurture students who forever dream big and do right?
One of the really important things we do is create an environment where students can be themselves. Each student is unique, but each student feels right at home at MPA. Here, it’s cool to be smart, cool to be a math nerd, a drama nerd, a speech nerd, or whatever type of nerd allows you to explore your passion. That welcoming environment is critical to allowing students to have those big dreams and sets an example they can carry on to welcome others.
If you have worked at another school, how has your experience at Mounds Park Academy been different?
I only worked one year at another school—a public school in northern Minnesota. It was like night and day comparing that experience to my experience at MPA. I remember giving a simple problem solving assignment to one of my classes and the students had no idea how to approach it. Nobody had ever asked them to do problems like that before! MPA students jump right in when given those kind of challenges. They’ve been given many opportunities to do open-ended, problem solving, creative activities, and they don’t back down from a challenge.
What would you tell a parent considering Mounds Park Academy?
At MPA, we ask students to solve challenging problems and give them the support they need to be comfortable doing that. Whether it’s solving interesting algebraic problems in sixth grade, writing a novel in seventh grade, doing a research paper in eighth grade, we ask a lot of our students, but we also provide the nurturing environment that helps them feel safe in taking those academic risks. Read More
Ms. Ling DeBellis was adopted from Guiping, China in 2001 and has an undiagnosed neuromuscular condition. She’s a life long patient at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. She attends MPA and lives in North Oaks with her family. This year, Ms. DeBellis is a member of the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet of MN to advocate for a better Minnesota where all women have the opportunity to thrive.
Have you told your friends and neighbors about MPA? Invite them to our next admission event, Lunch at MPA, on Wednesday, March 14 starting at 11:30 AM! Guests are invited to campus during a regular school day to meet school administrators over a casual meal, tour MPA, and see our community in action.
Thank you for sending in your stories! We are so excited to hear from more of you! We are working hard to design a more connected and productive network that works for you and the entire MPA community.
The Alumni Association is still looking for nominees for the MPA Alumni Association Award! Do you know an alum who is dreaming big and doing right? We want to hear about them!
At Mounds Park Academy, a private school in Saint Paul, the words “kindergarten” and “joy” are inseparable. And it doesn’t matter who’s describing the experience.
Logan Erickson ‘15 has been awarded the prestigious international title of IGDA Scholar from the Independent Game Developers Association Foundation. Logan is one of 18 recipients in the World to receive this honor for 2018. The IGDA Scholars conference scholarships are among the most coveted awards for students in game development and related disciplines. 
On Tuesday, March 6, we are calling on our alumni community to participate in our annual 24 hour giving challenge! As a nonprofit institution, we rely on financial contributions to support the programs and opportunities that our students take part in. When alumni show their support by participating in the Alumni Challenge, they not only affirm their faith in the teachers that supported them, but they show the community the reach and impact that MPA alumni can truly have on the world—from Youth Ambassadors to the United Nation to socially conscious business owners to 
Interested in the mechanics of robotics or the intricacy of textiles? Curious how woodworking is advancing global medicine and how common household items are upcycled and given new life? Have you ever seen a squishy circuit? The Makers of the 2018 First Annual Maker Fest will answer all of your questions this Saturday!
Rachel Katar is a member of the Mounds Park Academy Class of 2002.