{"id":20860,"date":"2021-11-16T09:58:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T15:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/?p=20860"},"modified":"2024-10-21T18:08:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T23:08:06","slug":"reflections-on-40-years-of-teaching-at-mpa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/2021\/11\/16\/reflections-on-40-years-of-teaching-at-mpa\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections On 40 Years Of Teaching At MPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"When teachers in the Anoka-Hennepin School district went on strike in 1982, an untenured, 23-year-old Anne DeVout Solie knew her job was in jeopardy. Her mom told the worried young teacher about a new school that was opening in St. Paul, and suggested she apply. But she hesitated: the school required three years of experience, and Anne DeVout Solie (now Anne DeVout Atchison) only had two.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, why don\u2019t you give them a call and just find out about them?\u201d the elder DeVout advised.<\/p>\n

Atchison called. More than 40 years later Atchison, now an MPA Middle School English teacher, is grateful for her mother\u2019s wisdom and nudge.<\/p>\n

In reflecting on that initial job inquiry, Atchison said, \u201cI\u2019m 23, and I\u2019m talking to the woman who picked up the phone. I assume it\u2019s the secretary, and we\u2019re hitting it off. I\u2019m asking her questions; she\u2019s asking me questions. At the end, I ask about the salary, and the woman says, \u2018I will tell you that, if you tell me your name.\u2019 I do, and in return ask hers.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Lois Kreischer, the wife of Mounds Park Academy co-founder and visionary Bob Kreischer, who also served as the director of admissions, business manager, and co-founder.<\/p>\n

Lois Kreischer (now Sandy Kreischer Smith) encouraged the young teacher to apply, though added, \u201cJust so you know we\u2019re looking for more experienced teachers.\u201d Fate intervened when the stated goal on Atchison\u2019s resume matched the one expressed in MPA\u2019s first brochure, which was being printed at the time: \u201cto create the conditions, within the school environment, for each individual to develop to the best of his or her ability.\u201d She secured the interview and then the job.<\/p>\n

Started \u201cOn A Dream And A Shoestring\u201d<\/strong>
\nBob Kreischer was a well-respected and beloved teacher, counselor, assistant principal, and principal in California before the death of his father-in-law compelled the family to move to Minnesota. The couple\u2019s niece and nephew were students at Breck, so they knew the west metro college preparatory school was hiring. Kreischer applied to and was offered a teaching position. As the new teacher, Kreischer taught \u201call the classes nobody else wanted\u201d and took \u201ca huge pay cut,\u201d Smith once said. After only a year, Kreischer became Breck\u2019s Middle School director.<\/p>\n

Kreischer left Breck shortly after his promotion\u2014with no job prospect\u2014dreaming of a school where everyone had a voice. At the time, Smith was a professional potter with her own shop in Afton. While her hands were busy making pots, her mind was exploring ways her husband could create the school he envisioned. She had notebooks full of ideas, budgets, and impressions of schools she visited that were for sale. Smith said she often took their daughter Kristi on trips to see schools, swearing her to secrecy not to tell her daddy.<\/p>\n

One day, her friend Joan Munzner visited Smith\u2019s shop. The potter asked the future MPA French and German founding teacher to come to her house so she could share Bob\u2019s idea of starting his own school. Over coffee at the kitchen table, encouraged by Munzner\u2019s enthusiasm for the idea, Kreischer gained a new perspective on his dream: together they could make it a reality.<\/p>\n

They enlisted the support of community leaders, prospective parents, future teachers, and required board members and launched what would become MPA. As the initial values statement declared, \u201cOur school was founded on a dream and a shoestring.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Early Commitment To The Whole Child And Social Justice<\/strong>
\nFor Atchison, the early conversations about the vision for MPA\u2014and whether they could really pull it off\u2014remain deep in her soul. The fledgling team wondered if the buses would show up that first day on September 7, 1982. They did, and MPA became a real school, exceeding the expectations of all involved.<\/p>\n

At the heart of Kreischer\u2019s vision was the whole-child approach, which was a new concept in the early 1980s. He stressed repeatedly that \u201cthe arts are as valuable as academics, which are as valuable as athletics\u201d\u2014and that we are whole people. Kreischer focused on creating a community where the students knew their teachers, and the teachers knew them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur secret sauce was that we knew our kids so we could navigate how to help them reach their potential,\u201d said Atchison. \u201cThe real relational foundation combined with the whole-child approach really set us apart from other schools. We allowed each child to walk their path in a way they were meant to, and it was our job to provide them with the experiences that would help make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early on, there were countless conversations among the faculty and administrators about what it would take to \u201cdo a school right\u201d and create a \u201crigorous but humane\u201d culture that connected with students individually and from the heart. Everyone had a real genuine desire to broaden kids\u2019 world so they could go out and make a difference. There was a sense of social justice before the concept became commonplace in more progressive schools. Atchison shared that Richard Meacock, a literature teacher and founding faculty member, came out as gay in the 1980s, and was a strong gay-rights advocate. It was highly unusual to have openly gay teachers at that time, one fact among many that demonstrates how inclusivity has been part of MPA from the start.<\/p>\n

An Emphasis On Collaboration Among Faculty<\/strong>
\nThe teachers MPA hired in the early years shared a common vision around creating a different type of school and learning environment for children. The faculty\u2014half of whom came from public schools and half from Breck\u2014appreciated Kreischer’s collaborative spirit, support, and trust in their judgment. They worked together and talked through how to design a cohesive curriculum, when they were all coming from diverse teaching environments. They answered simple questions like: What year are we going to teach history? When are we going to teach geometry?<\/p>\n

Originally, MPA hired Atchison, who had an elementary school license, to teach fifth and sixth grades. But when Maureen Conway, the social studies teacher, announced she was pregnant with her second set of twins, Kreischer turned to Atchison to fill that role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember saying to Bob, \u2018I\u2019m so sorry. I can\u2019t. I\u2019m an elementary teacher,\u2019\u201d said Atchison. \u201cHe responded, \u2018But this is a private school, Anne, so you can, and I\u2019ll help you and be with you every step of the way.\u2019 And he did. Those moments modeled for me, as a very young teacher, how to move people along and help them grow. And it\u2019s what we do with kids: we walk beside them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That first year Atchison taught fifth through eighth grade social studies and one class of fifth and sixth grade English. MPA had 13 eighth graders in its inaugural year. Atchison said they divided the students, and she taught the five of the 13. The team decided she would teach a civics class and Minnesota history. Atchison described adventures that would never be allowed today: spending the day riding along with a police officer\u2014each of the five in their own car, spelunking in the since-closed sandstone caves in what is now Lilydale Regional Park, looking at microfiche in the Minnesota History Center and driving students in their cars to have these amazing experiences.<\/p>\n

For sixth and seventh grades, Atchison taught American History. She asked Kreischer how best to choose a textbook. Always gracious and generous with his time and investment in Atchison, Kreischer sat down with her, and together they selected one. When she was teaching the fifth and sixth grade literature class, she again went to Kreischer for guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, Houghton-Mifflin and Scott-Forsman basal readers were commonly used,\u201d said Atchison. \u201cI remember going to Bob and saying, \u2018Bob, you know some of these teachers who are much more experienced than I am feel\/think the basal reader is the way to go. But I\u2019d sure like to try some novel studies, what do you think?\u2019 Here I am 24 years old, and he says, \u2018Go for it. Do it. Follow your heart. Do what you believe is right. I trust you.\u2019 I think that trust that he had in all of us\u2014that we would do right by his vision and do right by the kids and the school\u2014was pivotal.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Kreischer took a collaborative approach in everything the school did early on, he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, according to Atchison. \u201cBob was a can-do guy and a dreamer\u2014and as introverted as they come. Anytime we would have an open house, Bob would need to pull himself away. He\u2019d be sweating bullets and shaking. So much rested on what we were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a fellow introvert, Atchison empathized with Kreischer\u2019s nervousness surrounding public forums. Yet, Atchison observed, \u201cWhen you meet Bob, he is this warm, quiet, soft-spoken man who has this charisma that is very unusual. He is like a gentle pied piper who says, \u2018Come with me. Let us do this together. For Bob, it was always about the \u2018us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding Her Place As A Middle School English Teacher<\/strong>
\nAtchison is the only remaining founding teacher at MPA. She was five years younger than the next youngest teacher in 1982. Few of her current peers know her teaching license is in elementary education: she has been on the Middle School faculty the entire 40 years of MPA\u2019s existence. Early on she taught math, English, and social studies before finding her permanent place as an English teacher.<\/p>\n

There is a common theme in Atchison\u2019s early years of teaching at MPA: circumstances (fate?) led her to where she belonged. Early in the school\u2019s history, Atchison submitted several student-written stories to a contest. The judges wrote back and said, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on with this school? These stories are so well written.\u201d In turn, they wrote a story celebrating MPA. It was only the second or third year of the school, and MPA was gaining a lot of attention. So, Atchison started submitting different students\u2019 work to publications, and they had \u201cmany, many successful publications\u201d in those early years. Atchison became the English teacher, and the rest is…history.<\/p>\n

Atchison loves teaching middle schoolers. \u201cIn the midst of all of this angst, students are just beginning to be abstract thinkers and figuring out who they are,\u201d said Atchison. \u201cIn my experience, kids in middle school honestly believe they can change the world. There is no cynicism, and it is so beautiful. You put these world problems and issues in front of them, and their reaction is \u2018Yeah, we can do this. We can make a difference.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In the eighth grade right now, Atchison is part of a project headed by MPA science teacher John Milam called Future City. The students must design a city in 2121 and mitigate waste and pollution so we can survive. In her English class, the students are writing an essay; in social studies they are creating a presentation. The entire effort is a competition, along the lines of Destination Imagination. But in Atchison\u2019s mind it is not just an assignment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just telling the kids \u2018This isn\u2019t a game, it\u2019s your life and future,\u2019\u201d said Atchison. \u201cI told them, \u2018Think of it, I\u2019m 50 years older than you are, and in 50 years, will Florida still be here? What do you need to be thinking about as you\u2019re designing these cities and building these models? This is relevant stuff, and one of you could come up with a feasible, innovative futuristic idea that we need to use today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Role Of Technology In The Classroom<\/strong>
\nAtchison said she is still teaching because every single year is brand new and challenges her to uncover what her students need. When she started the 2021-22 school year, Atchison recognized that many students had been spending many hours in front of screens. She wanted them to rediscover their love of reading and reconnect with the magic of real books. Stacks of options crowd the corner of her desk.<\/p>\n

For the first time in her 40 years at MPA, Atchison is dedicating class time to independent reading. She always has felt she had to \u201cteach, teach, teach.\u201d Yet, this year, for the first 20 minutes of her class, students are reading paper books, turning pages. Then, she has a two-minute task for them to complete about what they read; it is an easy assignment because the focus is to \u201cget those pages turning again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insisting on paper books in class is not a rejection of technology per se. While Atchison embraces the use of technology, she has a clear sense of when it is time to \u201cclose the lids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, as an English teacher, the lids on the computer go up when it\u2019s time to write,\u201d said Atchison. \u201cWhen it\u2019s time to read, when it\u2019s time to think, when it\u2019s time to interact, the lids are closed. Our world has gone in the direction of technology, but people and relationships are always, always, always more important than screens.\u201d<\/p>\n

MPA was an early adopter of technology in the classroom. During MPA\u2019s first year, Joe Prouse, the school\u2019s assistant director, was working on a deal with Control Data to get a computer in the hands of every one of Atchison\u2019s students back in 1982. While ultimately unsuccessful in that initial attempt, Prouse helped secure a Commodore computer for each one of Atchison\u2019s English fifth and sixth grade students early in her tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a challenge in staying cutting edge and holding onto who you are and your values,\u201d Atchison said. \u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic is an example of how we persevered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perspective On The Pandemic And MPA\u2019s Core Values<\/strong>
\nAt the beginning of March 2020, Dr. Bill Hudson gathered the administrative team and shared the possibility of schools being closed due to a potential pandemic. MPA sent computers home with students before spring break, even with fifth-grade students who normally were not allowed to take them home. The fifth graders had their computers sealed in envelopes\u2014and were told to bring them back to school with the envelopes still sealed if school resumed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Bill to educate us about the pandemic before it came, showed tremendous leadership, foresight and vision. What we were doing was unchartered territory, and we were committed to doing our best,\u201d said Atchison. \u201cI remember on that first day of remote learning, I told every student to grab their computer and stand up. I said, `Okay, guys, now we’re going to pivot 45 degrees,\u2019 and together we all turned. I said, \u2018It\u2019s a new direction, what do you see?\u2019 That was where we started, and that spring for me as a teacher, who has taught for 42 years, is probably one of my finest hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, MPA gave teachers \u201cstructure with freedom to do what was right for kids,\u201d said Atchison. In an email on April 6, 2020, Middle School director Dr. Jennifer Milam wrote: \u201cMPA curriculum is our guide\u2026AND\u2026you are free to be creative and shift as you need and as students need.\u201d For Atchison, that message reflected the same ideology that grounded MPA when Kreischer, Smith, Munzner, Prouse, Meacock and she started the school together 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith COVID, we were in a sense pivoting, trying to create something new to make…not necessarily the world a better place…but to make the very best of the situation we faced\u2014and to make it an adventure. After all, aren\u2019t security and adventure what we want to provide kids? Because we got that as teachers, we could pass that on to our students, and I taught in a way I never had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking Risks\u2014And Learning From Them\u2014Is Core To MPA<\/strong>
\nBy starting MPA 40 years ago, the school founders all took a calculated risk. Atchison said that the idea that the mistakes-are-wonderful-opportunities-to-learn mantra has been with MPA from the beginning. Today, Atchison sees that risk-taking support reflected in the leadership of her boss, Dr. Jennifer Milam. Through and through teachers are encouraged to take reasonable risks, to fall if they need to fall\u2014and then model to students how to get back up.<\/p>\n

Falling is easier when there is a community of loving and supportive people to catch you and guide you back into the right direction.<\/p>\n

Every single day for many years, Bob Kreischer served lunch and greeted students by name. Even as the school grew, he knew all the students. Atchison said MPA could have grown faster, but Kreischer wanted to maintain the community feel and the sense of a shared adventure\u2014both nurtured by Kreischer\u2019s leadership. Today, Hudson greets students and families every morning, welcoming them to MPA and the adventures that will unfold.<\/p>\n

When asked about her hopes and dreams for the next 40 years of MPA, Atchison\u2014ever the English teacher\u2014said, \u201cI wonder where we are in our story. Hopefully, we\u2019re just at the beginning of a real grand adventure\u2014that we\u2019re facing our rising action and not yet to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When teachers in the Anoka-Hennepin School district went on strike in 1982, an untenured, 23-year-old Anne DeVout Solie knew her job was in jeopardy. Her mom told the worried young teacher about a new school that was opening in St. Paul, and suggested she apply. But she hesitated: the school required three years of experience, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":20862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,28,10027,24,29,8127,9,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-current-families","category-faculty-and-staff-experience","category-featured-posts","category-homepage","category-international","category-lower-school","category-middle-school","category-upper-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20860"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26825,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20860\/revisions\/26825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moundsparkacademy.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}