Mounds Park Academy

State of the Lower School: Strong Roots, Clear Steps

January 29, 2026

from James Ewer, Lower School director

As we reach the midpoint of the school year, our division directors are pausing to reflect on what is thriving, what is evolving, and what lies ahead. These updates reflect the unique character of each division and, together, highlight the shared commitment to learning, belonging, and growth that defines Mounds Park Academy. Watch for a state of the school report with a PreK-12 perspective from Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, head of school, in next week’s Panther Post.

We have something very special. And we have work to do to protect it.

A Program Built on Relationships and Breadth

When I step back and look at what I consistently observe, I see a division built on relationships and a real belief in children. Our specialist program stands out as a major asset. Our students get a breadth of experiences that most schools cannot offer, with strong offerings across areas like arts, world language, LMT, robotics, theatre, and daily P.E. That range gives kids multiple entry points to confidence, success, and belonging. Read More

Parents Association News And Events January 29, 2026

January 29, 2026

Lower School Valentine’s Day Party

Calling for volunteers from Lower School families! Please sign up to volunteer at the upcoming Lower School Valentine’s Party on February 12!

Basketball Game Concessions

Support the girls and boys basketball teams and MPA Athletics by keeping the crowd happy and fed during the games! No previous experience needed.

Upcoming Events:

Middle School Quarterly Coffee | Thursday, February 12 from 8-9 AM | Porter Conference Room

Parents Association Trivia Night | Friday, February 27, 6-8 PM | Family Commons

MPA Shifts From TADS To Clarity For Contracts & Billing

January 29, 2026

We are excited to announce that MPA is expanding our use of Clarity to include its contracts and billing portal. Families who have used Clarity for Indexed Tuition applications will find the process familiar and families who are new to Clarity should find it straightforward as well. This will integrate beautifully with our use of Clarity for financial assistance applications. Based on your feedback, we selected Clarity due to its ease of use, modern interface, and exceptional customer service.

With Clarity, you’ll benefit from:

A Streamlined Process: Indexed Tuition re-applications, contract, invoice, and billing information will be conveniently located in one place.
Convenient Payments: You can pay your deposit, tuition, and incidental charges in the portal. You can pay by ACH or credit card.
Mobile Friendly Interface: Access right from your phone or any device, wherever you are.

FAQs for MPA Families

How will I access my 2026-27 re-enrollment agreement and complete the process?

On Monday, February 9, you will receive an email from Clarity on behalf of MPA inviting you to start the process of re-enrolling. This message will contain your unique link to complete your re-enrollment contract.
Once you click through, Clarity will prompt you to create a login. If you have applied for Indexed Tuition through Clarity, you will log in with that username and password. If you are new to Clarity, you can sign in using Google or Microsoft single sign-on, or create an account using your preferred email address.
After logging in, you’ll be guided step-by-step through the contract process. You’ll be able to review and select your tuition and payment plan, choose any additional offerings, and sign your contract digitally. If there is a second guardian, signing the contract will generate an email to the second guardian inviting them to co-sign. Either guardian may initiate the process.
When you’re ready, you’ll be directed to make your deposit payment via credit card or ACH. Once your payment is submitted, your enrollment will be complete. You’ll then be taken to your Family Dashboard, where you can view your contract and manage your account going forward.
Your student will be fully re-enrolled when all guardians have signed the contract and you have paid the deposit.
You will then repeat this process for each child re-enrolling at MPA. Note that Clarity issues contracts and billing by student, not by family. You will be able to see all students in the portal.
If you have two separate households, each household will complete the process independently and not have visibility into the other household.
The deadline to complete this process is Friday, February 20.

How will I know what my Indexed Tuition award is?
Upon logging into Clarity, you will see your award on the first screen. MPA does not send separate notifications of awards unless there is a special circumstance.

How will the transition from TADS to Clarity happen?
For the remainder of the 2025-26 school year, you will continue to access 2025-26 billing through TADS. During re-enrollment for 2026-27, you will sign a new contract and set up 2026-27 billing in Clarity. You will need to have both accounts until you make your last payment for the 2025-26 school year, at which time everything will be accessible in Clarity.

Is my information safe with Clarity?
Clarity is certified for both GDPR and SOC2 and uses enterprise-level security standards, including end-to-end encryption of all personally identifiable information. For more information, please refer to Clarity’s Privacy Policy.

Who do I contact with questions about contracts, billing, and Indexed Tuition?
Your family is very important to us and we want to hear from you with questions and concerns.

For questions or concerns about tuition or your Indexed Tuition award, please contact Robert Perez, CFOO, at rperez@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5501.
For questions or concerns about the details or specific charges you see in Clarity, please contact Allie DeLeo, student billing coordinator, at studentbilling@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5502.
For assistance with the Clarity interface, please contact Clarity at support@clarityapp.com or 206-210-3752.

Where can I learn more?
If you would like more information prior to re-enrollment opening on February 9, please take a moment to view these tutorials from Clarity:

How to create an account >
Note: If you already have a Clarity account through your financial aid application, please use that login.
How to sign your contract >
How to set up autopay >

Contribute To The Do Right Helping Hands Food Drive!

January 26, 2026

We are proud to continue our community-wide effort to support families in need across our local area. Each week from now until spring break, we are collecting and delivering nonperishable food, household essentials, and personal care items to benefit the following:

Two local schools
Local clinic on the East Side
Open Cupboard/Today’s Harvest
MPA’s own community pantry, supporting MPA families

If you are able, we invite you to drop off needed items at doors one and seven on any weekday.

Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteers are needed weekly! If you would like to join us on campus to help sort, package, and prepare deliveries for our partner organizations, click here!

Most Needed Items

Canned Goods:

Tuna
Chicken
Sardines
Vegetables
Baby Corn
Beans
Fruit
Coconut Milk

Starches:

Rice
Pasta
Mama Brand Instant Noodles
Canton Egg Noodles (Dried)
Corn Tortillas
Maseca (corn flour)

Easy Meals:

Mac & Cheese
Ramen
Soup
Hamburger Helper
Canned Pasta (ravioli, SpaghettiOs, etc.)

Dried:

Beans
Lentils

Spices:

Garlic
Onion
Chili Powder
Cumin
Bouillon Cubes

Sauces/Oils:

Cooking Oil
Sesame Oil
Pasta Sauce
Black Bean Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Sriracha
Soy Sauce
Hoisin Sauce

Household Items:

Trash Bags
Dish Soap
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
Laundry Detergent

Personal Hygiene:

Shampoo/Conditioner
Body Wash/Soap
Lotion
Deodorant
Sanitary Pads
Toothpaste
Toothbrush

Other:

Diapers
Formula
Jelly
Instant Coffee
Cases of Water
Shelf Stable Milk
Cereal
Snacks (chips, cheese crackers, granola bars, fruit pouches, cookie packs, etc.)
Applesauce

Please follow MPA’s allergy guidelines and refrain from bringing in anything with peanuts or tree nuts as ingredients or in the precautionary allergen labeling.

If your family needs support, please don’t hesitate to reach out confidentially to Ashley Goetzke at agoetzke@moundsparkacademy.org. We would be honored to assist through our MPA pantry.

If you have any questions about the food drive, please contact MPA Parents Association co-presidents Laura Nicholson at laurahnicholson@gmail.com and Jasmin Stees at jasminstees@yahoo.com.

Parents Association News And Events January 22, 2026

January 22, 2026

Care For Faculty & Staff!

Once again, the Parents Association will host a conference dinner for the Lower and Middle School divisions on Thursday, and snacks to fuel our teachers on Friday. Sign up to contribute perishable and nonperishable items for our upcoming events. Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

Middle School Quarterly Coffee | Thursday, February 12 from 8-9 AM | Porter Conference Room

Parents Association Trivia Night | Friday, February 27, 6-8 PM | Family Commons

MPA Closed Friday, January 23

January 22, 2026

Dear MPA Community,

We have been closely monitoring the forecasted temperature and windchill. Unfortunately, we have made the decision to cancel all classes, activities, practices, and events tomorrow, Friday, January 23.

This cancellation includes the 7 PM performance of the Winter Show. If you purchased a ticket and would like a refund, please contact James Lekatz at jlekatz@moundsparkacademy.org. Otherwise, your ticket purchase will be treated as a donation to the theatre program.

All after-school activities and events today will proceed as scheduled.

This is not a decision we take lightly, as we carefully balance the safety of our students and families with our commitment to students’ time in class. Safety, however, is always our highest priority.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back on campus on Monday. Stay warm!

Sincerely,
Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon
Head of School

Small Acts, Shared Belonging

January 22, 2026

from Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, head of school

Lately I’ve felt, as I suspect many of you have, a heavier, quieter kind of worry. Over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, I took time to reflect on peace, equality, and the lessons my parents taught me about service: that small acts of kindness truly change lives. Hearing our youngest students at their Lower School assembly speak about Ruby Bridges and ways to practice kindness and fairness gave me chills and renewed my hope. I then had the good fortune of walking through the Upper School Commons, where I could see some Upper School students helping one another and connecting across grades, along with their teachers, which makes it very evident to me how our daily choices to connect create belonging.

This week, a group of MPA students, faculty, staff, caregivers, and administrators attended the Pollyanna National Conference: Building Stronger and Kinder Communities. The original plan was to hold the conference in Minneapolis, but organizers pivoted to virtual at the last minute. Though not the same, seeing over 40 schools from across the nation gather and focus on communities offered the encouragement so many of us have been looking for. The conference reminded me why MPA’s commitment to community and deepening relationships matters.

I want to take a moment to offer a few takeaways from two keynote speakers from the conference.

Relocating to the Twin Cities? How To Think About Independent School Options

January 22, 2026

from Natalie Waters Seum, director of enrollment strategy and communication

Relocating your family is both exciting and overwhelming. New jobs. New neighborhoods. New routines. And, for many families, a school search layered on top of everything else—often from a distance, on a tight timeline, and with the quiet pressure of wanting to get it “right” for your child.

I’ve worked with hundreds of families over the years—and I was once a parent choosing an independent school myself—so I know how heavy it can feel. You’re not just choosing a school, you are choosing a community at a moment when everything else feels unfamiliar.

If you’re moving to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN and are considering an independent school community like Mounds Park Academy, here are a few ways to think about the process that may help you cut through the noise.

This isn’t a checklist of “best schools” or a ranking of programs. And honestly? I don’t think that’s what families really need.

Start with the Experience Your Student Needs

Many families begin with course lists, school rankings, class sizes, test scores, or college outcomes. Those things matter—but they rarely tell the full story, especially when a child is in transition. When students relocate, they aren’t just entering a new school. They’re navigating a new city, new friendships, and often a new sense of self. Questions worth asking include:

Will my child be known here—quickly and genuinely?
How does the school support transitions, not just academically but socially and emotionally?
What does community actually look like in everyday moments?

At MPA, families often notice how intentionally students are known—by name, by interests, by how they learn. Small class sizes help, but the culture is the backbone. Teachers, staff, and division directors work closely to ensure new students don’t feel like they’re starting over alone.

An Update From Ella Fruchterman ’22

January 20, 2026

Ella Fruchterman ’22 is a senior at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a co-major in digital and social media business applications.

Throughout her college career, she has continued to compete as an elite international equestrian athlete in dressage. This summer, she represented the United States in the Young Rider (U21) and U25 divisions at the North American Youth Championships. She was part of the Region 4 Young Rider team that won gold and also earned a bronze medal in the U25 freestyle.

Last month, Fruchterman appeared on the cover of the Fall 2025 edition of the Dover Saddlery catalog.

The rigor of Mounds Park Academy’s courses, along with leadership opportunities such as serving as co-editor in chief of the yearbook, prepared her to excel in presentations, papers, and exams while balancing a demanding training program.

A Message from Ryan Ghose ’21

January 20, 2026

Happy New Year! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed however you spent the holidays this year and had time to rest and recharge from a busy 2025.

Reflecting on my brief trip home to Minnesota, I realized that the few moments I had away from my family were spent reconnecting with MPA. Whether playing cards with school friends or catching up with teachers, coaches, and mentors, it amazes me how subconsciously I gravitate back to the people who inspired me at MPA. I can tell those people impacted my life tremendously just by virtue of how much I wanted to return and see what they were up to.

Over the past few months, the Class of 2026 has connected with alumni mentors to learn about life after MPA and the opportunities ahead. Spanning three classes of seminars, seniors have been immersed in the wonderful world of LinkedIn while learning from alumni about different career paths and educational opportunities. Culminating in an in-person meet and greet, students got to hear from professionals spanning game design, the arts, and finance to research and higher education, and many more. To the 75 mentors who served this year, thank you! I remember being a student and being absolutely in awe of my alumni mentors, opening my eyes to the potential we had after graduating with an MPA education. To those who might be interested in being a mentor next year, you can reach out to alumni@moundsparkacademy.org! Read More