February 27, 2018
Middle School math teacher
How many years have you been at MPA? 27
What do you love about Mounds Park Academy?
The students. Every day I get to work with students who are curious, motivated, eager to learn, and willing to do the hard work to solve challenging problems. We talk about the joy of learning, but it’s a joy to work with students like this! As a coach, I get to hear positive things about our students from others they encounter. It might be the neighbor who noticed some of our runners stopping to pick up trash at Goodrich, or the bus driver who always looks forward to driving MPA students because they’re the best.
How does Mounds Park Academy nurture students who forever dream big and do right?
One of the really important things we do is create an environment where students can be themselves. Each student is unique, but each student feels right at home at MPA. Here, it’s cool to be smart, cool to be a math nerd, a drama nerd, a speech nerd, or whatever type of nerd allows you to explore your passion. That welcoming environment is critical to allowing students to have those big dreams and sets an example they can carry on to welcome others.
If you have worked at another school, how has your experience at Mounds Park Academy been different?
I only worked one year at another school—a public school in northern Minnesota. It was like night and day comparing that experience to my experience at MPA. I remember giving a simple problem solving assignment to one of my classes and the students had no idea how to approach it. Nobody had ever asked them to do problems like that before! MPA students jump right in when given those kind of challenges. They’ve been given many opportunities to do open-ended, problem solving, creative activities, and they don’t back down from a challenge.
What would you tell a parent considering Mounds Park Academy?
At MPA, we ask students to solve challenging problems and give them the support they need to be comfortable doing that. Whether it’s solving interesting algebraic problems in sixth grade, writing a novel in seventh grade, doing a research paper in eighth grade, we ask a lot of our students, but we also provide the nurturing environment that helps them feel safe in taking those academic risks.
In what ways are you preparing students for life in the 21st century?
Problem solving will be critical for our students as they move into college and careers. As I often say to students, the problems that can be solved by just following a recipe will be done by computers and robots for a lot less money than you could work for! Our students need to be able to solve the problems computers cannot solve. I teach by posing problems and asking questions. I like to expose my students to problems that require them to combine a variety of math concepts in some creative way to unlock the problem. This is the kind of problem solving they will need to do in their future. And solving those kinds of problems is a lot more fun than doing lots of problems that are all the same.
What do you hope for Mounds Park Academy students in 20 years?
Having been here for 27 years, I’ve seen MPA grow and change in so many ways. But the core things that make the school what it is today have always been there. I hope that in 20 years, our students will benefit from both the continued growth and change that will happen, and from the same nurturing, accepting environment that makes MPA so unique.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your Mounds Park Academy experience?
Having the opportunity to teach at MPA has been my big dream!
Mounds Park Academy, a PreK-12 private school in Saint Paul, is currently accepting applications for the 2019-20 school year. For more information about admission and to schedule your tour, visit moundsparkacademy.org/admission. We look forward to getting to know your family!
