All School

January 18, 2024

from Bill Hudson, head of school

Since 2015, I have invited parents each December to participate in the Net Promoter survey. The Net Promoter is a standard industry measure of customer experience. Respondents are asked to answer a fundamental question, using a 0-10 scale: How likely is it that you would recommend MPA to a friend or colleague? It was created by Frederick Reichheld, a top management consultant at Bain & Company, to predict customer loyalty and measure customer satisfaction. Although it is geared toward Fortune 500 companies and is not common in education, it has been a valuable tool for MPA.

Our school-wide score is 48 this year, a noticeable improvement over last year. Historically, MPA parents have given an average score of 58, including a high of 74 in 2020 and a low of 40 last year. Like many companies and institutions, MPA’s Net Promoter score took a hit after the pandemic, a reflection of the uncertainty as society grappled with the “new” normal.

Approximately 78% of MPA families participated in the survey this year (although the numbers are skewed a bit because families were invited to take it several times if they had students in multiple divisions.) According to the Net Promoter methodology, survey respondents are grouped into three categories: detractor, passive, or promoter, based on the simple question of how likely respondents would be to recommend the school to a friend or colleague.

The breakdown for MPA is as follows:

• Detractors: Fifty-nine parents (representing 16%) gave a score between 0 and 6 and are considered detractors or “unhappy customers.”
• Passives: Ninety-five parents, or 26%, are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers, giving the school a score of 7 or 8.
• Promoters: Two hundred and eight parents, representing 57% of those participating in the survey, gave a score of 9 or 10 and are classified as “loyal enthusiasts.”

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January 11, 2024

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made them in the past and forgotten about them within a few weeks—workout machines that soon become a place to drape clothes or a gym membership that quickly goes unused. What I’ve learned over the years is that committing to continual improvement is more sustainable and successful than a one-time set of resolutions.

MPA is committed to continual improvement. The roadmap for improvement is defined in our strategic plan, 2024ward, and validated by accreditation by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, ISACS. 2024ward resulted from multiple conversations with MPA constituents and a thorough study of what our students need to be successful now and in the future.

The first priority of 2024ward is to “empower students to live, learn, and thrive in our increasingly complex and globalized society.” How we do that is in part expressed in the second priority, “ensure an equitable and inclusive community.” To succeed, we need to “affirm and inspire our exceptional and dedicated faculty and staff,” as stated in the third priority. Finally, our school’s future will be secured by the fourth and final priority, “enhance institutional capacity by continuing to strengthen financial sustainability.” These four priorities and the goals, objectives, and action plans support and guide decisions and ongoing school improvement.

Priority One, “Empower students to live, learn, and thrive in our increasingly complex and globalized society,” can seem as though we need a crystal ball. It’s a bit daunting and pretentious to think we have a hold on the future, especially in a society and world hurdling forward at a breakneck speed. However, we know we can’t continue to live and learn the same way we have in the past. As celebrated educational reformer John Dewey said, “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”

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January 3, 2024

from Dr. Jenn Milam, Middle School director

Editor’s Note: Periodically, you will find a guest Head’s Message here from members of the administrative team. We hope you will enjoy reading their thoughts and reflections about life at MPA.

“It is a deep comfort to children to discover that their feelings are a normal part of the human experience.” -Haim Ginott (1965)

“For teenagers, powerful emotions are a feature, not a bug. This has always been true, but these days it seems to be less widely understood.” -Lisa Damour (2023)

These two quotes, while written by two different people in two different centuries (wrap your head around that!), in what most would say are, societally, two entirely different worlds, point to the same thing—emotions are normal, for all of us, and are even more a hallmark of what it means to be a teenage human—regardless of decade, generation, identity status, or continent. Both Haim and Lisa are child psychologists, parent educators, and child advocates of the best kind—the kind that see childhood as a journey, a time of exploration—of really high highs and some rough lows. Bumps, bruises, broken hearts, and bad grades are partners (even co-conspirators) of the best kind to championship wins on the ball field or volleyball court, best friend adventures, all-night-giggly-sleepovers, a cute prom-posal, or a new pair of sneakers. It’s like a middle school dance where we stood on opposite sides of the gym, not sure what to do, but no one wants to miss anything, so we all stand around awkwardly hoping for something great—and wouldn’t you know, while we might not get asked to dance by our secret crush, our favorite song comes on, and we end up on the dance floor jumping around to “Shake It Off!” by T-Swift having the time of our life!

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