May 17, 2012
Mounds Park Academy has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Malone Family Foundation. The grant will fund scholarships for gifted students whose families are not able to afford the full cost of a Mounds Park Academy education. This is the first year a Minnesota school has been chosen as a Malone Scholar school.
Mounds Park Academy was one of 11 schools across the country chosen from among many applicants this year for their commitment to providing an outstanding learning environment for gifted and talented students. Following a three-stage selection process, the Foundation concluded that Mounds Park Academy fit its rigorous selection criteria.
“We are thrilled to be chosen as a Malone Family Foundation partner,” said Head of School Mike Downs. “The Foundation’s commitment to providing access for gifted students to the schools best able to meet their academic needs and develop their talents aligns perfectly with Mounds Park Academy’s mission.”
Founded by John Malone of Colorado, the Malone Family Foundation has one principal objective: to improve access to quality education – particularly at the secondary school level – for gifted students who lack the financial resources to best develop their talents. The Foundation supports schools that provide engaging and stimulating academic environments, broad and inclusive extracurricular activities and warm and open communities where talented students can feel safe and secure as they prepare for their university studies. Malone schools feature small and intimate class sizes that, through positive teacher-to-student relationships, generate successful academic outcomes and nourish students with diverse talents and interests.
The Foundation began funding schools in 2000, and this year’s grant recipients bring the total number of Malone Scholar schools to 49. Mounds Park Academy, along with Saint Paul Academy and Summit School, became the first schools in Minnesota to be awarded the grants this year.
Mounds Park Academy will choose one Malone Scholar for the 2012-2013 academic year, and will add more Malone Scholars in subsequent years.
When the program is fully phased in, MPA will offer two scholarships annually–one at grade 7 and another at grade 9–to newly admitted students. A Malone scholarship follows the Malone Scholar through his or her graduation from Mounds Park Academy.
