Blog Archives

Ten Things To Consider When Choosing A Private School

March 6, 2025

The arrival of spring brings a new season to all private schools all around the country: admission season! Here at MPA, decisions are released on March 28 and the enrollment deadline quickly follows on April 11. This means families are currently facing a decision—and sometimes, that decision can be difficult. So with the help of our community, we collected a list of ten things families should consider when deciding on a private school.

1. Your Community
When choosing a school, you’re not looking for a community just for your children, but for yourself and your entire family.

The MPA community is robust, and each and every child is known and valued. We are built upon shared values and firmly committed to freethinking, collaboration, diversity, and connection. “We love the connectedness, the openness of the community, and the personal attention for our children,” says MPA Middle School parent Isaac McBroom. “It seems the school really knows them as individuals.”

He also noted how the strength of the MPA community is rooted in character development, one of the fundamental aspects in our educational philosophy and in the curriculum, PreK-12. “The world does not run on math and science alone. Understanding world issues, and how to connect to others with empathy and understanding will hopefully lead to a more fulfilling life,” he added. Read More

The Joy Of Being A PreK-12 Family

March 5, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the March 9 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

To close out the month of February, we gathered together in the Family Commons for “Remember the Time: A Black History Month Showcase.” The event was a wonderful reflection of connections forged between students of all ages–a distinctly PreK-12 experience.

Ahead of the event, students were immersed in research, combining prior knowledge with new findings and growing their appreciation and understanding. Older students mentored younger ones, guiding them through these discoveries, while they brought fresh perspectives that reminded us all of the joy in curiosity.

Then, the evening opened with a gallery-style viewing of student work displayed throughout campus. In Lower School, a model of the historic Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans and Basquiat-inspired artwork. In Middle School, educational videos describing biographies of influential inventors, scholars, activists, and artists. In Upper School, the halls were lined with a timeline of Black History in America. And so much more. Read More

“A Remarkable Community”

February 26, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the February 26 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

“MPA is a remarkable community filled with love, compassion, and a genuine interest in the well-being of not only the students but the entire family. While the facilities and academics are extremely impressive, the MPA experience extends far beyond the classrooms. From hallway smiles and community events to check-in emails and sincere gratitude, it’s an environment unlike any I’ve seen. We will be forever grateful our family was welcomed into the MPA family.” –MPA parent review on Niche.com.

Hearing stories like this never fails to make our day. Though this parent’s words are personal, their experience is not singular. Anyone at MPA will tell you that one of the best parts of our school is the joyful, welcoming, family feel. In fact, community, not just a school, is what so many of our students and families come to MPA looking for. Read More

The Path From Montessori School To Mounds Park Academy

February 3, 2025

When it comes to making a school choice, there are so many different types of environments to explore. Each educational philosophy offers a unique approach to learning, with its own set of strengths, challenges, and benefits for each individual child.

The transition from Montessori to a PreK-12 college prep school like Mounds Park Academy might seem like a big leap, but many of the traits your child developed in Montessori–like their independence, curiosity, and a love of learning–create a very solid foundation for them. At MPA, we work with families to take things one step at a time and embrace these new challenges and opportunities.

How Does A Montessori Education Compare To Mounds Park Academy?

Montessori education focuses on child development and the creation of supportive learning environments. Montessori schools are rooted in principles that emphasize child-centered learning. Students are encouraged to be independent, self-directed learners who explore subjects at their own pace. The American Montessori Society states, “Montessori education is student-led and self-paced but guided, assessed, and enriched by knowledgeable and caring teachers, the leadership of their peers, and a nurturing environment.” MPA honors philosophies similar to a Montessori learning environment while maintaining a level of academic rigor that prepares students academically for college. This is similar to the Montessori method focusing on child-led learning and independence. While the goal of Montessori schools is to inspire a love of learning, Mounds Park Academy achieves this through academics taught in an experiential way. Read More

Five Reasons To Apply Today

February 3, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the February 2 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

Thank you to those who attended our last PreK-12 event of the year, the January MPA Preview! Whether you brought home a piece of your own printmaking art or had a climbing wall adventure, we hope you enjoyed your time with us as much as we did giving you a genuine preview of our school and community.

With the final PreK-12 event of the year comes the end of our admission season, meaning the February 15 application deadline is approaching quickly and we are beginning to see all of the future Panthers who are ready to begin an MPA journey of their own. If you have not yet completed your application, we have five reasons to share why your family should begin your MPA journey by applying today.

1. Academic Rigor With Purpose

At every grade level, MPA finds a developmentally appropriate way to incorporate rigor–not just for the sake of a rigorous education, but to challenge students to push themselves and apply their knowledge to critical thinking and real-word problems to be solved. “Students gain a great sense of satisfaction from taking a project from idea to reality and seeing it meet expectations when it comes to fruition. This exemplifies engineering at Mounds Park Academy and in the real world,” says Mark Shapiro, MPA Upper School physics teacher, on what rigor with purpose looks like. MPA’s curriculum, coupled with small class sizes, allows for more collaboration, creativity, and opportunities for students to become well-prepared for college and beyond. Read More

Why Alumni Are Choosing MPA For Their Children

January 22, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the January 22 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

The full-circle moment of welcoming alumni back when they bring their own children to MPA is very special. As such a young school, we’ve started to see an upward trend of alumni bringing their children to MPA in recent years. And because the fabric of our alumni community is so unique, we hear a lot of different reasons why; joyful memories of their time here, aligning values, an overall feeling of home, and crediting MPA for preparing them for the world.

“A lot of who I am and who I came to be started in this building and continues to stay with me today,” says Spencer Butts, a class of 1999 MPA alum. “I’ve seen both of my boys, since they’ve been at MPA, learn better study habits and learn how to challenge themselves without being prompted. I think their self-confidence–socially and academically–has changed and improved. MPA really beautifully walks along that fence of making sure that students understand that rigor is an important part of life. But, I think it’s also understood that you have to be able to understand failure to succeed at the end of the day.” This is why Spencer chose MPA for his children.

Like Spencer, our alumni have had transformative experiences at MPA, and they want their children to benefit from the same environment that shaped their own growth–both academically and personally. Alumni returning, and bringing the next generation with them, reflects the lasting impact MPA strives to have on students for a lifetime.

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Warmly Welcoming 2025

January 8, 2025

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the January 8 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

The new year has arrived, and MPA’s office of admission is both reflecting on what went well in the past year and dreaming big about what else we can work on as we embark on the next.

Ask around the MPA community, and you’ll hear a recurring theme of our school’s warmth and welcoming, family-oriented atmosphere. We are a close-knit community of students, parents, and educators who believe that everyone thrives when we are inclusive, collaborative, and having fun together. Read More

The Importance Of Play

January 2, 2025

When parents are just beginning to explore early childhood and kindergarten programs for their children, many questions are at the forefront of their minds. Will their child be safe and nurtured but also challenged? At MPA, the answer would be ‘yes’ to these questions. However, parents also question what institutes the proper amount of academic rigor for five to six-year-olds and ask what this rigor should look like in kindergarten.

Mounds Park Academy, one of the top two private schools in Minnesota and one of the nation’s top STEM schools, serves students PreK through 12th grade and features both a PreK and a kindergarten program that deeply believes that play is, in fact, one of the most important components of a successful early childhood and kindergarten program.

Benefits of Play in Child Development

In Suzanne Bouffard’s book “The Most Important Year,” she discusses best practices for the earliest years of school. She explains that successful early childhood programs follow the research, which states “very clearly that children learn through play and this notion that you have to choose between play and academic learning is a false dichotomy.” She writes, “One study showed that you can give children building blocks and let them build whatever they want. Or you can give children building blocks with a goal–to build a landing pad for a helicopter, for example. In both cases, everybody ends up having fun and learning something, but the kids who had a goal actually used richer vocabulary, especially around spatial skills and building concepts.” Read More

MPA By The Numbers

December 19, 2024

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the December 21 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

An MPA education goes beyond the classroom. There are many ways to count it out–the numerous opportunities students have to explore their passions, the many skills they develop that will last a lifetime, a collection of connections and strong relationships beyond the classroom. Let’s take a deeper dive into the numbers that all add up to an MPA education.

1. 55 Upper School elective offerings, 35+ Upper School clubs and organizations, and 25+ Middle School clubs and activities
There is something for everyone at MPA. Extra-curricular activities are an integral part of Middle and Upper school student life. Students are encouraged to explore and try new things in order to discover their passions and themselves. They develop wider social groups, stronger self-confidence, and leadership skills. Plus, students perform better academically when they’re involved at school.

2. #2 Private School in Minnesota
We are proud and humbled to be ranked the #2 private school in Minnesota on Niche! A combination of our excellent academic program, engaging extracurriculars, variety of offerings for students of all ages, and our supportive community filled with Panther pride all have a part in making up this annual ranking. Read More

Your Opportunity To Experience MPA On A School Day!

December 11, 2024

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the December 11 issue of Inside MPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

During your school exploration process, have you happened to ask yourself …

What is a day in the life of an MPA student? What do they learn? Where do they study? How do they feel?

To answer all of the above and more, we invite you to join us for the opportunity to experience life at MPA on a school day. Our PreK-12 Preview this Friday, December 13, from 8:30-10 AM, will give you that inside look at MPA.

This event is the perfect opportunity for your family to see yourselves here. Experience the comfy, cozy library spaces, the Makerspace as bright as your ideas, and the wide-open, welcoming Lansing Center. Your family will be led on a small group tour and experience the delightful moments, in and out of the classroom, that make MPA so special. In addition to exploring our state-of-the-art spaces firsthand, you will also have the opportunity to meet and engage with academic leaders–bring your questions! Read More