Let’s Dream

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

“I need to start living again,” I said to myself last week after exchanging a series of texts with a good friend that I have seen only once in the previous two years. I immediately texted her again, and we made plans to meet for breakfast over the weekend. Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience. The last two years of the pandemic have been difficult for a number of reasons, including the lack of opportunities to socialize with and expand our circle of friends. I noticed this at school also. My heart was bursting at the seams during our Lower School Art and Music Show last week, and I realized how much I missed the casual, joyful interaction with parents.

In just a few weeks, on Friday, April 22, we have an opportunity to burst out of our pandemic cocoons for an evening of fun, strengthen friendships, make new friends, and celebrate our school community. While the MPA Spring Auction, “Let’s Dream,” is the only fundraising event of the school year, it is so much more. Whether you are a new or returning family, you will enjoy the laid-back atmosphere held this year in a stunning setting. A’Bulae is a truly unique venue set atop a building in Lowertown St. Paul with sweeping vistas and a rooftop terrace.

“Let’s Dream” is a wonderful celebration that raises over $200,000, directly benefiting our teachers and students. It is a chance for parents, alumni, grandparents, parents of alumni, and employees to celebrate all we’ve accomplished. Our volunteer planning committee, Karen Chan, Rebekah Cook, Sarah Cotter, Lucia Gray, Amy Kotch, Tara Lafferty, Jennifer Macdonald, Amy Minear, Renee Roach, Mindy Ruane, Kelley Still, Leslie Todero, and Lisa Vale, have been hard at work planning a wonderful evening. Hundreds of community members and area businesses have joined together to create our fantastic 170+ item silent auction. There are also a limited number of golden tickets that are still available that provide the opportunity to pick any one of the fabulous live auction items. Read More


Rigor With Purpose

CircuitLabI enjoyed the opportunity last Friday to visit with fifth-graders about their SEEK (Science, Experiments, Explorations, and Knowledge) Projects. A tradition for more than 20 years, Middle School Science Teacher Courtney Nagle describes SEEK as “the scientific method on steroids!”

As I wandered around the Family Commons, I was impressed by the variety of scientific experiments students chose and was struck by their curiosity. In particular, I was delighted with their ability to critique their project, talk about what they would do differently next time, and how what they learned could be applied in other contexts. The SEEK Project is an excellent example of what we at MPA call “rigor with purpose.”

Rigor is different from difficulty. Traditional applications of rigor most often entail more and harder assignments that are “pushed down” from the teacher and “piled on” to the student. In reality, such an understanding of rigor requires little more than lower-level thinking skills such as factual recall and procedural regurgitation rather than greater cognitive complexity. At MPA, rigor with purpose is meaningful learning that goes deeper to challenge students’ thinking in new and exciting ways. Read More


Welcoming Back Smiling Faces

In Story
From Jennifer Rogers-Petitt, Director of Development and Community Engagement

One Thursday per month you will see a guest Head’s Message from a member of the Institutional Advancement Team. We hope these additional perspectives will help you catch a glimpse inside the inner-workings of your school.

If you’re like me, over the past few weeks, you may have been reflecting on how different our spring breaks were two years ago compared to this year. Two years ago, my two kiddos and I were enjoying a memorable trip to New York City, gearing up to take in Broadway shows and the many sites. Halfway through the trip, major sports teams, businesses, public spaces, and what felt like the entire country began to shut down due to this new virus that was sweeping across the world. One day we were walking through the bustling Times Square, and the next day I was worried about our ability to get a flight back home.

Two years in, so many things in our lives continue to be different, but I am so happy to see many areas returning to our new normal. Seeing many of your students’ smiling faces as we made the move to masks being optional, having parents back in our hallways, and being together to build community have been wonderful steps forward. Read More


Understanding MPA Athletics

Danfrom Dan Haase, Athletic Director

One Thursday per month you will see a guest Head’s Message from a member of the Institutional Advancement Team. We hope these additional perspectives will help you catch a glimpse inside the innerworkings of your school.

At Mounds Park Academy, we believe athletics complement the total academic experience and development of the student. Students learn a great deal from their participation in interscholastic athletics. Concepts such as teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, self-confidence, self-esteem, and developing a healthy body are all vital components of our Upper School athletic programs.

Athletics at MPA strive to provide an opportunity to all students to discover their interests, improve their skills, and have fun enjoying the activity with their friends. To accomplish this, MPA practices a no-cut policy in all athletic programs. A no-cut athletic policy allows inclusion to all interested students who would like to become a member of a team. Teams are established based on the interests and registrations of each of our programs.

MPA is proud to offer 23 Upper School athletic offerings for students in grades 9-12 and is a member of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). The MSHSL provides uniform and equitable rules for students in extracurricular activities, and they promote, manage, and administer athletic programs for students at members schools on a Subsection, Section and State level.

MPA is also a member of the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC). The IMAC consists of six mission-driven independent college preparatory schools. The IMAC conference was formed in 2014 based upon an agreement with the Blake School, Breck School, Minnehaha Academy, Providence Academy, and St. Paul Academy. The conference was formed in the interest of keeping an appropriate perspective on the role of athletics in secondary education. Read More


Cultivating Scientists For The World

Head's Message from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

While walking the indoor track in the Lansing Sports Center last Friday, I took note of a large wooden structure assembled on Court Four. I had a hunch that it was a model constructed by our students on the FIRST Robotics team. If you are not familiar with FIRST Robotics, it is an international organization that combines “the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology.” I’ve been to several competitions, and I have to agree. According to FIRST Robotics, “teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team ‘brand,’ hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get.”

FIRST Robotics is a terrific example of inquiry and problem-based activities that align with our MPA science philosophy of fostering creative, inquisitive, and critical thinkers. The science department is firmly rooted in the idea of the “citizen scientist,” a term that encompasses scientific research, concepts, and principles and public engagement in order to expand the reach, relevance, and impact of science to the whole of society in service of the common good. It is true that a number of MPA graduates go on to become doctors and scientists. It is also true that when they chose other fields of studies or careers, MPA graduates carry with them the knowledge and experience of how science impacts our world.

What is unique about the MPA science philosophy and curriculum is the emphasis on engaging students in the application of scientific method, principles, and research to real-world problems and nurturing important competencies and skills. Taking an inquiry-based approach, students working individually or collaboratively come to understand how content is useful and can be applied to everyday problems, both large and small. The following are only a few examples of our distinctive approach in action. Read More


Take An MPA Art Crawl

Lower School Art Tourfrom Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

I am thrilled to see parents in the halls of MPA once more—we’ve missed you! With Omicron infections on a downward trend and our high vaccination rates, we have been able to open the school once again for parents. On my way back to my office after morning door duty on Monday, I happened upon three parents who had been enjoying time walking through the halls. In particular, they mentioned to me how impressed they were with the beautiful art our students have created that is on display throughout the building. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t stop to admire and enjoy it as it is one of the things I love most about MPA.

I was recently reading through the open-ended responses from the parent satisfaction survey administered in December and one comment caught my attention. In it, a parent questioned the requirement of art and theater in Middle School. I certainly respect the perspective of parents and realize that every child will not always enjoy the arts. I also know the importance of the arts in our mission and the long-lasting impact it has on students. An incredible amount of research has been conducted over the last decade on how music positively affects the brain and cognitive development.

For instance, one study found, “Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts education can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork.” Another study by a 15-year literature review done by the NEA found, “A growing body of evidence suggests that at virtually every stage of life, the arts can foster openness to novelty, encourage connections to people, places, things, and concepts, and promote the ability to take multiple perspectives, among other positive outcomes.” Read More


Maintaining Vigilance

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

“This is going to be bad. Really bad,” I said to myself as I listened to a podcast on my drive home from school late one night two years ago. It was in early January that a colleague of mine who works with international students first told me about an outbreak of new flu virus occurring in China, but the details were sketchy. I was desperate to learn more and somehow came across a podcast that went into great detail about the seriousness of the new strain—and I was deeply concerned. And scared, if I am honest. There was a lot I did not know two years ago but I knew the strength of our community.

It is hard to believe it has now been two years and yet it seems like just yesterday. I could only imagine then the implications of the pandemic and its effect on all our lives. It has taken an academic, social, and emotional toll on our community and yet we have persevered and deepened our resiliency. I am proud of our students and grateful for the trust and partnership of parents. Read More


The Future Of Education

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

As I walked to my post at the front entrance of the school Tuesday morning, the sound of jazz being played on the piano drew me into the band room where I happened upon the zero-hour jazz band class. The exceptional talent of the students and the beauty of the music they were creating together was a moment of pure joy for me as well as a moment of gratitude to work in a school that truly values music education.

Without denigrating the mastery of musical skill and ability, many of the students were unaware of other learning was taking place in the band room. While I am most certainly not a musician, I do know that that the unique interplay of harmony, rhythmic invention, scale, extended chords, and syncopation all speak to the complexity of jazz. In addition to musical ability, jazz also requires and fosters a number of valuable lifelong skills, including creativity, improvisation, collaboration, interdependency, problem-solving, risk-taking, humility, ideation, integrating and synthesizing information quickly, critical thinking, and navigating complexity.

For several years I taught a master’s level class at the University of St. Thomas on the foundations of American education. As a history buff, I loved studying the evolution of education in the United States and the various reforms instituted over the years. Rather than static, the idea of school has always been in a continual state of change. Educational reform has been the norm for education in response to the needs of students and society. However, our current system, created in response to the industrial revolution, is much the same as it was in the early 1900s.

I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the future of education, particularly now as we begin to emerge from the pandemic and begin the shift from the information age to what author Daniel Pink calls the conceptual age. While the industrial age focused on results and the information age focused on data, facts, and technology, the conceptual age will depend on high-touch skills like empathy and high-concept skills such as the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, combining different or unconnected ideas together. With information readily accessible and computers able to analyze it, our future depends on the ability to harness curiosity and creativity to create novel solutions to pressing challenges in our world. As educational reformer John Dewey said, “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”

Read More


Strengthening Our Sustainability

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

This is the fourth of a four-part series of Head’s Messages that dives deep into MPA’s new strategic plan, 2024ward. Today we will outline this priority: Enhance institutional capacity by continuing to strengthen financial sustainability. The first article may be found here. The second article may be found here. The third article may be found here. An overview of 2024ward may be found here.

Whenever I am back “home” in Lansing, Michigan, I always take time to drive by my childhood home. When we moved in, it was the first house in a new suburb created from what was previously open fields of a dairy farm. I vividly remember planting several saplings with my dad and impatiently asking him when they would grow to become shade trees to protect my bedroom window from the glaring summer sun. Almost 50 years later, I marvel at their size and find joy knowing they provide shade and comfort to the current family that occupies the house.

In much the same way, our founding families made decisions and took certain actions that benefit our students today. The most obvious example is the generosity of donors over the years that have contributed to our endowment, which stands at $7,104,004 million. While relatively modest for a school our size, the draw on the endowment helps to directly fund programs and services for current students. Read More


A Culture Of Respect, Equity, And Belonging

from Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

This is the third of a four-part series of Head’s Messages that dives deep into MPA’s new strategic plan, 2024ward. Today we will outline this priority: Ensure an equitable and inclusive community. The second article may be found here. An overview of 2024ward may be found here.

It is not by accident that my article this week highlights the second priority of our new strategic plan. “The time is right to do what is right,” said Martin Luther King Jr. in a speech at Oberlin College on October 22, 1964. In the midst of a particularly violent year and in anticipation of the election, Dr. King noted that while behavior cannot be legislated, it is none the less crucial to protect dignity and lives of African Americans. Fifty-seven years later, our society continues to grapple with not just individual acts of racism but institutional and structural racism that deprives Black, Indigenous, and people of color from realizing the fullness of their humanity.

Since the founding of MPA in 1982, our school has been committed to embracing diversity, seeking equity, and continually striving to be profoundly inclusive. It has been a national leader among independent schools, well ahead of its time, in areas such as sexual orientation and gender identity. As a community, we have focused on fostering a safe and inclusive space for all, aspiring to be cognizant of gender identity and equality, religious understanding, socio-economic diversity, multicultural awareness, and racial diversity of students and staff. Equity, justice, and inclusion are embedded in our mission statement and are key in preparing our students to learn, live, and thrive in an increasingly diverse world.

While I am proud of our historical commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at MPA, I also acknowledge the pain and trauma some of our students of color endured at MPA over the last forty years and continue to experience now. To say that MPA is a safe, inclusive community is authentic and it is also inspirational and aspirational. We are in the middle of great societal change and along with change comes periods of uncertainty, disruption, and discomfort. Nonetheless, we as a community must re-commit ourselves to actions and values that demonstrate a culture of respect, equity, and belonging.

In the fall of 2020, I formed an Antiracism Action Group to engage the MPA community in reflection, advocacy, and action to dismantle racism in our school and in the larger community. Composed of students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and trustees, the Antiracism Action Group met throughout the year and recommended a series of concrete steps to be taken to address institutional and individual bias and racism in our school. The recommendations were accepted by the Board of Trustees last year and serve as the foundation of this pillar of our strategic plan.

The work of implementing this priority is the responsibility of all members of our community. 2024ward calls for a balance of both immediate, short-term actions with longer-term strategies. To drive this important work and to hold us all accountable, the MPA Board of Trustees established a board level Equity and Belonging committee. The Equity and Belonging Committee will engage the larger MPA community to create a multi-year comprehensive action plan with quantitative metrics. Goals include expanding diversity throughout the MPA community including in our leadership, governance, faculty, staff, and student body and enhancing the capacity of faculty and staff to address instances of individual and institutional racism.

Work has already begun in several areas. For instance, the administration has been reviewing and improving our hiring process so that we are better able to attract high quality teachers and staff of color. Planning is currently underway for a comprehensive curriculum review to take place next year that includes ensuring that both content and delivery are centered on equity. In a new initiative this year, all employees are meeting monthly in small groups to build belonging, foster trust, and cultivate empathy so that authentic, meaningful, and ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work can be done to strengthen the MPA culture and community.

Mother Teresa once said that, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” As one independent school trustee said, “I’m talking about the kind of ‘when you feel pain, I hurt; when you feel joy, I smile’ belonging, going beyond the ‘let’s ensure that everybody participates in the trip to Italy’ kind of belonging that society might be more apt to take on within schools. It’s a “if I hurt you, I hurt everyone, including myself” kind of belonging. The work of diversity, equity, and belonging at MPA is a recognition that all of our fates are intertwined, and we can never be whole if we are unable to see and honor the humanity of others.