The MPA Parents Association Board manages the MPA Parents Association and consists of parent/guardian volunteers representing Lower, Middle, and Upper School families.

PA Board meetings are held monthly and are open to parents and staff. For location and/or Zoom information, email pa@moundsparkacademy.org.

2026-27 Board:

• Co-Presidents: Jasmin Stees and Laura Nicholson
• Secretary: Cristin Moran
• Treasurer: Adi Boeder Risner
• Communications Lead: open position
• Staff Appreciation Lead: open position
• Lower School Division Lead: Laura Nicholson and Jamie Kreeger
• Middle School Division Lead: Sarah Cotter
• Upper School Division Lead: open position

Roles and Responsibilities

President: Duties include presiding over all meetings of the board, ensuring the PA is represented as needed, and, when necessary, appointing (with the approval of the board) any standing and temporary committees. The PA currently has co-presidents.

Secretary: Distributes agendas and keeps minutes and accurate records of all proceedings of the Parents Association, prepares and distributes the reports of the PA, and is responsible for other communications to its members, and performs other specific responsibilities as deemed necessary by the president and the PA Board.

Treasurer: Responsible for the supervision of all financial matters (depositing income, paying expenses, and paying grant awardees) and preparing a financial report at the end of each school year. The treasurer reports balances at PA Board meetings. The treasurer performs other specific responsibilities as deemed necessary by the president and the PA Board.

Division Lead: Each division lead (Lower, Middle, and Upper School) represents their respective divisions at all PA meetings. The division leads consult regularly with the division directors to ensure that PA activities are aligned with division policies and initiatives. Each division lead establishes and appoints the members of temporary committees. The division lead performs such other specific duties as may be established by the president. Each division lead is typically responsible for events in their division. They appoint and coordinate with their event committee chairs.

Communications Lead: Consults with the PA board and the communications office on creating communications for PA events, as well as gathering and generating content for the PA’s section of the Panther Post. If you wish to contact a board member or committee chair, please consult the parent directory in Schoology for their contact information.

The Parents Association proudly offers a number of community-building events throughout the year. You can volunteer and/or participate in the following ways:

• First Day of School Coffee: Stay after drop off on the first day for coffee and conversations with friends, old and new. This is a great way to learn more about the Parents Association and ways to get involved.
• Faculty and Staff Appreciation Events: Parents provide meals and snacks for faculty and staff during conference weeks and pop-up events each month to show our appreciation.
• Lower School Class Parties: Each Lower School class gets a chance to celebrate Halloween and Valentine's Day with a party during the school day, hosted by the PA.
• Book Festival: A well-loved MPA tradition designed to promote the joy of reading. There is a range of activities during the Book Festival. Book sales benefit the school library.
• Cultural Celebration: Celebrating and educating our community about the range of cultures represented within the MPA community through food and fun enrichment activities.
• Grade-Level Socials: Community-building get-togethers held at the beginning and end of the school year, grade-level specific and planned by grade representatives.
• Moving Up Ceremonies: A formal ceremony of students moving up from Lower School and Middle School in the Nicholson Center.

Volunteering is a great way to get to know other parents, students, faculty, and staff. We invite you to explore all that the PA has to offer and get involved. Any amount of time is appreciated! For more information, email pa@moundsparkacademy.org.

Stay up to date with events and volunteer opportunities via the Panther Post, MPA PA Parent Press, and the MPA PA Instagram!

Ways to Get Involved

There are many committees throughout the year that would benefit from your time, expertise, and leadership. Much committee work is accomplished via email and is always based on busy parent schedules. You will meet MPA families while supporting community building at MPA! Each year, the PA is looking for volunteers to give their time to lead, support, and assist with the following events:

• Book Festival
• Cultural Celebration
• Trivia Night
• Faculty & Staff Appreciation
• Grade Rep Program
• Lower School Halloween Party
• Lower School Valentine's Party
   

Email the MPA Parents Association

Interested in directly impacting the strength of our MPA community? Sign up to be a Grade Rep! Grade reps are at the heart of the Parents Association and our work to build community. If you are interested in volunteering to be a Grade Rep, please contact the Parents Association at PA@moundsparkacademy.org.

General Grade Reps’ Roles and Responsibilities:

• Send a welcome letter to all families introducing yourself at the start of the year.
• Plan a fall grade-level specific family get-together.
• Throughout the year, utilize Schoology and/or group email to communicate PA information to your grade-level families as needed.
• Plan one parent-only social event at any point in the school year.
• Help families in your grade-level navigate the year at MPA on an as-needed basis.
• Team up with your fellow grade-level reps with clear communication and shared responsibility!

Grade Specific Responsibilities:

• Lower School only: Connect with the teacher at the beginning of the school year. Depending on the teacher(s), Grade Reps may be asked to coordinate in-class parties and other volunteer activities during the year. Coordinate an end-of-year gift for homeroom and specialist teachers.
• Kindergarten only: Kindergarten Graduation
• 8th Grade only: Collect photos of students to be used during the moving up ceremony.
• 12th Grade only: Coordinate the Senior Surprise Overnight Party

To access the contact information for the grade reps below, please refer to the online community directory in Schoology.

Grade Rep Program

Lower School

PreK:

• Jocelyn Cunha
• Jasmin Stees
• Janell Stanton Soderberg

Kindergarten:

• Nadia Lubeznik
• Rachael Weber

1st:

• Andrea Goldstein
• Lee Neumann
• Leslie Todero
• Christopher Siegfried

2nd:

• Pamela Ganser
• Laura Nicholson
• Rachael Weber

3rd:

• Andrea Goldstein
• Kelley Still
• Sarah Charleston

4th:

• Sarah Cotter
• Bethany Griffith
• Sarah Cascino
   

Middle School

5th:

• Rhamy Magid
• Trish Hanson

6th:

• Sarah Cotter
• Leslie Todero
• Jessie Lamb
• Misty Tandon

7th:

• Tina Heidelberger
• Jasmin Stees
• Kate Schneider

8th:

• Rhamy Magid
• Samah Fahmy
   

Upper School

9th:

• Jason Moldan
• Lisa Burton
   

10th:

• Nohemi Feltl
• Katherine Maki
• Tibbe Luell
• Masha Tivyan
• Kelsi Rahm

11th:

• Mira Norcross
• Pat Wyant

12th:

• Barbra Skubitz
• Melissa Doffing

Reimbursement

To request reimbursement for purchases made on behalf of the PA, please email the PA Treasurer at patreasurer@moundsparkacademy.org. The treasurer will acknowledge your request and coordinate with the MPA Business Office, which issues all reimbursement checks. When you email your request, please include:

• Full name of person/vendor to be reimbursed/paid
• Address where the check should be mailed
• Contact information for the MPA parent requesting the reimbursement/payment
• Description of expense purpose, including grade number, event name, event date, etc.
• Description of items/services that were purchased
• Signature (can be submitted digitally)
• Attached scan/photo of itemized receipt(s)
   

The PA Room

The Parents Association has a comfortable and flexible room in the basement, room 42, which is used as a meeting room, work room, staging area, and storage for PA events. If you need to use the room, please contact pa@moundsparkacademy.org.