January 23, 2013
To All MPA Community Members,
You are invited to join our “Mounds Park Academy Connections” LinkedIn Group, which is exclusively for current and alumni parents, faculty members, staff, MPA alumni and grandparents. The purpose of this online group is to engage our diverse MPA community members around common areas of interest – such as technology, education, the arts and a wide range of professional and volunteer opportunities. The site will be managed by MPA Director of Marketing and Communication, Colleen Winters, and Trustee Dana Boyle.
Why to Get Engaged
Here’s an example of how we have been reaching out to our network in the past: When MPA launched its FIRST Robotics Team last year, we sent an e-mail to the current parents we could find who have jobs in the engineering and technology fields. We immediately got 3 or 4 parent mentors from this simple effort – all of whom are back for the 2013 season, not because their own kids are on the team but because they are passionate about their vocations and want to pass knowledge and encouragement along to our students. In addition, this fall an MPA alumnus – who now lives in Colorado and works for Lockheed Martin – happened to see something about the Robotics team on MPA’s web site, and contacted the school to see how he can mentor the students from afar. This is great; and, yet, we know that that there are many other alumni and parents who would equally enjoy the opportunity to stay engaged with MPA or help the school through their existing connections in the greater community. It goes beyond mentoring students through MPA’s growing STEM initiatives, too. Many of you would enjoy attending exceptional performances by our talented students, taking in Panther sporting events, keeping tabs on high-level school updates, networking with others for professional reasons or gathering for purely social activities. This pipeline will give you a convenient new way to stay in touch with the school and with each other.
It’s also a way to announce opportunities that may interest other MPA community members. “As I hear of job openings, internships, or interesting community events, I’d like to share them with other parents and alumni,” explains Dana Boyle, Vice President of Community Engagement at Twin Cities-based LifeScience Alley. “Or when we are looking for speakers to come address MPA’s parent or student community, it would be helpful to have an existing network that we can tap into with a special request. Someone is sure to know of just the right contact, if only we can get the word out.”
Why LinkedIn?
Panther Post is the weekly e-newsletter that focuses mainly on current school-related areas of interest. What we’re introducing with the LinkedIn group is more about connecting community members with each other. And, while Facebook is still a great social media platform that MPA actively uses, LinkedIn tends to reach professionals more effectively, serving a slightly different purpose. It also tracks work and volunteer experiences – both past and present. LinkedIn makes it easy to perform a search to identify connections that people in the network have within the larger community. Thus, for example, if MPA were to seek a relationship with a particular arts organization, a simple search would reveal who in our existing network might be a Board member or employee there, giving us a much more effective way to gain traction than going in with no initial connection. Best of all – we get to know each other better. And, a good network is worth its weight in gold on many levels!
How To Engage in the MPA LinkedIn Group
- Create a LinkedIn profile if you don’t already have one (it’s very easy and you don’t need to be employed to take advantage of this opportunity) Go to: www.linkedin.com
- Under the “Groups” tab, search Mounds Park Academy Connections and ask to join the group by clicking the button
- As you see discussions that interest you, add to the conversation or provide additional information that will automatically be shared with the group
- Post your own news, ideas, interesting links, questions and opportunities – having multiple voices posting to the site is the only way to make it a vibrant network
- Remember, the focus is on Community Engagement and this is not a replacement for discussions that should otherwise be directed to the school
Ultimately, our goal is to have a more connected and multi-generational community where the common ground is our passion for Mounds Park Academy. This is your invitation to join in!
