Blog Archives

December 28, 2020

The following essay is adapted from MPA Class of 2021 member Evan Esch’s Senior Speech.

Playing one of America’s greatest pastimes has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. When I was younger, baseball was always the most fun and something I’d look forward to in the summer. Being an athletic kid, it came particularly easy to me. I was fast, I could also hit the ball pretty well, and I was exceptional at catching and throwing. On top of that, I’m a lefty, among the most desired traits in baseball players. As I continued to progress through youth baseball, my team won a lot of games and tournaments. We had a great coaching staff that was knowledgeable and brought tremendous energy. They really wanted us to succeed. However, when high school came along, and the pressures of the recruiting environment began to ramp up, my relationship with baseball began to change.

Being noticed as a high level baseball player in Minnesota was great, it felt affirming to be one of the best. However, it sometimes made me complacent. That complacency was, at times, detrimental to my game because it made me too comfortable. It was easy to do things that came naturally to me, and they fulfilled me in the short-term, but looking back, I realized I did not accomplish much in those comfortable times. Read More

A First Grader In A Rock Band?

December 18, 2020

How many seven year old kids can say they play in a band? First grader Eloise can! Through School of Rock in St. Paul, Eloise plays the keyboard, performing hits with her band like “Great DJ” by the Ting Tings and Janelle Monae’s “Dance Apocalyptic”. “I like working with a group to make music and getting to know new people and I like my teachers,” says Eloise. “They make playing music together fun! I really like learning new songs and chords. I like to find notes on the keyboard that match the song and rhythm.”

Eloise’s introduction to piano came about serendipitously. Last year, she signed up for music lessons offered by MPA senior Skylar Cernohous, a member of the class of 2020 who now attends the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University. As part of her senior service project, Skylar gave weekly 30 minute piano lessons to seven MPA students in kindergarten, first, and second grade. “My experience with music helped influence the project. I was in four music classes at MPA and spent a lot of my time with music . I’ve played the piano since I was in first grade, so I wanted to give other children the same opportunity to start young. Piano has been a huge part of my life. Read More

Finding Light, Warmth, Joy, And Growth

December 17, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

In a few short days, the winter solstice will be upon us. Literally and figuratively—a few short days. Monday will be the shortest day of the year, the longest night, and the first official day of winter. The increasing darkness over the last several months has resulted in six additional hours of nighttime. Darkness seems to have also crept into our psyche as we experience the impact and uncertainty of the pandemic, the economy, and the social and political discord. A long winter break is needed now more than ever.

The heaviness of the dark is coupled with what seems to be more anxiety, more stress, more work, and less time to unwind. It has been proven that we have more time for leisure than we did 50 years ago, and it doesn’t seem to be any more relaxing, in part because of the pandemic, the fuzzy line between home and work, and the disintermediating effects of our screens. According to behavioral scientist Ashley Whillans, emails, texts, and social media aren’t just eating 10% of our free time—they’re fragmenting it into tiny pieces of “confetti” that we can’t enjoy. Whillans recommends blocking out uninterrupted time for leisure, just as we do for deep work. (You might enjoy Whillans’ article “Time Confetti and the Broken Promise of Leisure.”) Read More

Socratic Seminars And The Path To Making Meaning

December 15, 2020

Sixteen faces appear on Zoom as Upper School English teacher Lauren Drake begins her Western and Global Literature course. It’s a Wednesday afternoon and these tenth graders listen patiently as Drake explains how the main item on today’s agenda will work; the class’ first Socratic Seminar of the quarter. Today’s Socratic Seminar is a comparison of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature”, and a collection of William Wordsworth poetry. Drake explains the grading rubric, recaps the seminar’s norms, and reminds students to think about the space they inhabit in group discussions. Then it’s go time and students jump right in, starting with an examination of prompt one, a comparison of the uses of light and dark imagery in “Allegory of the Cave” and “Frankenstein”.

Different schools have their own unique way of engaging students in learning through classroom discussion. For some, there’s the Harkness Table, for others, the Fishbowl Model, and still others use the Jigsaw Method. At MPA, Upper School humanities teachers use the Socratic Seminar to create engaging, hands on, discussion based learning opportunities that facilitate deep dives into complex content knowledge. Read More

MPA’s Return On Investment

December 14, 2020

The realization for Mike Velin ’06 came over several weeks in 2002. An excellent student in his elementary and early middle school years, school stopped coming as easily when Mike entered eighth grade. “I was getting straight As all the way through middle school, and then all of a sudden, I was getting Ds,” he says. “Something just switched where I wasn’t engaged. I wasn’t happy or passionate anymore.” In response, the Velin family started thinking about Mike’s education as an investment, and recognized that part of his struggles could be attributed to the fact they weren’t investing in Mike’s education as much as they could be. “Going through that experience was very transformative for our family,” he says. “Because in the end we found MPA, and it influenced the rest of my life, the way that I approach my career, my relationships, how I view the world.”

Throughout this process, the Velins pondered their answers to a fundamental question that confronts many prospective families as they consider their options: is a private school worth the significant investment? Before deciding to pay tuition for something that is available for free, families want the assurance that their investment is worthwhile. Your family has likely wondered about such a question as well. So, what is the answer? Is a private school education worth it?

At Mounds Park Academy, we wholeheartedly believe that it is. Read More

A Dream And A Shoestring

December 10, 2020

Thirty-nine years ago this week, 13 people from throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul gathered with Bob and Lois (now Sandy Kreischer Smith) Kreischer to articulate their shared dream of founding an independent school in the east metro of St. Paul. In his introduction that evening, Bob said, “We are aware that this could be the start of something big and equally aware that this could totally end in a month or so.” At the end of the meeting, a vote was taken to officially establish Mounds Park Academy. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on December 11 with the State of Minnesota designating Mounds Park Academy as an educational nonprofit on December 14, 1981.

Bob had been the Middle School director of Breck School and Lois was an artist. Both had a dream of a school that would educate the whole child (before the term became popular) and a different kind of college-prep program that while focused on academic excellence, was committed to helping each student reach their potential. They also knew the importance of a teacher that “enjoys and really cares about their students” and a curriculum that “best meets the individual student’s needs.”

Bob understood, and Lois knew, the integral role of the arts in developing the whole child. The early foundations of the school were built upon a diversity, the joy of learning, independent thinking, curiosity, interdisciplinary learning, developing a sense of responsibility, and global awareness. These values may not seem out of the ordinary now, but in 1981 they were groundbreaking and innovative. Read More

Three Easy Ways For Busy Parents To Share MPA

December 10, 2020

Each year, nearly nine out of every ten newly enrolled families have some previous connection to MPA. It could be that their colleague is an alum, a neighbor has kids here, or a friend from dance goes to MPA. Word of mouth is an incredibly important way to share MPA, and here are three easy things that a busy parent can do to help spread the word.

Nudge two friends
You’re likely having conversations like this already! It could be that you’re texting with another parent from the swim team and when the topic of school comes up, this parent expresses frustration with how things are going. Consider giving this parent a gentle nudge to check out MPA! Registering for January’s Virtual Admission Preview is a great way for anyone in your network to learn more! They will see seventeen spaces on campus, hear from a panel of community members, and take a deep dive into life at MPA with a division director. Read More

The Importance And Power Of Outdoor Play

December 10, 2020

This interview with Amanda Janquart and MPA parent Amy Lemieux provides parents reflection and ideas for incorporating unstructured outdoor experiences into family routines. Amanda and Amy also share insight about how outdoor experiences foster children’s emotional and physical health.

Janquart’s formal education includes a B.S. in environmental education, natural resource management and biology, and Master’s work in early childhood education. “But I’ve learned the most through teaching at nature based preschools and raising my own children. What matters is being the person that shares the wonderment of discovery, encourages seeking, and allows for play,” Janquart says.

Upper School parent Amy Lemieux has a B.A. in psychology and elementary education from St Thomas and an M.A. in counseling from the University of Wisconsin. She taught elementary school for eight years and supervised student teachers for five years. Early in her career, she developed a passion for intergenerational programming, relishing the benefits of pairing the oldest and youngest in society.

Looking Around The Corner

December 3, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

One of my mentors described leadership as “looking around the corner,” as if we were atop a tall building and could prevent a potential accident in the making as two vehicles approached an intersection. Under her tutelage, I’ve incorporated her advice and disciplined my approach to decision making by looking ahead a month, a year, or several years to consider the possible possibilities.

Leadership consultant and TED speaker Roselinde Torres describes looking around the corner in this way: “Leaders today need to constantly be looking at trends and challenges that could disrupt or create opportunities for their business. Leaders can’t afford to be reactive—they must consciously be very proactive. Whether you’re leading an organization, department or small unit within a company, you still need to be looking ahead.”

Our preparation and planning for the pandemic is a very real example of looking around the corner. Last February into early March, we began meeting as an administrative team almost daily, stockpiled wipes and hand sanitizer, and left for spring break fully prepared not to return in person. Looking around the corner is not predicting the future but rather what author and professor at Columbia Business School Rita McGrath calls paying attention to “the edges.” Leaders “need to embed ways of learning about what’s happening, that isn’t right in front of you, that’s farther out” by not limiting our reading or interests to what is familiar and comfortable. Read More

The Impact Of Singapore Math In The Lower School

November 23, 2020

Lower School Director Renee Wright reflects on Singapore Math in the Lower School at MPA.

Looking back over the past 30 years as a Lower School teacher, one of my most challenging subjects to teach was math. Some students were successful, and some were not. Some students loved math, while others didn’t care for it at all. How would I address these challenges? I knew it was my job to teach math concepts and make sure these skills could be applied. At the same time, I wanted students to love math and feel confident. I was not alone with these concerns.

Teachers often report that problem solving is one area that presents the largest challenge for students. It is not uncommon for students to feel anxious or frustrated when asked to solve challenging mathematical word problems. In fact, students often give up before even trying. Problem solving in math often causes students to feel incompetent and believe they aren’t good at math. This can lead to a negative mindset about math and becomes a huge barrier to future success in the subject. Eight years ago, teachers and administrators at MPA started looking for a math program to address these challenges. After much research, the Singapore Math curriculum was selected and adopted in grades kindergarten through fifth. Read More