May 3, 2018
by Erica Brewinski ’96, Middle School Director
Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, you will now find a guest blog post here from one of MPA’s division directors. We hope you will enjoy reading their stories and reflections about life at MPA!
“You can change the world.” When I think back on my education at MPA, these are the words that always come to mind. Maureen Conway, retired Upper School history teacher, repeated them to her students so many times that no one could doubt that we had the ability to shape the future for the betterment of the world around us. After graduating from MPA, I put these words into action by creating a new program in which Brown University students were paired with developmentally disabled adults in the Providence community so that the latter could learn and practice important life skills. While the rest of my college friends volunteered in pre-standing programs or, more likely, didn’t bother with service at all, I felt both empowered and compelled to take action to address a need that I knew would make a difference. MPA provided me with the skills, courage, creativity, and perseverance necessary to create something from scratch, including programming, budgeting, advertising, locating and working with a large number of community partners, and more in a place where I could no longer rely on family and friends for help. It also guided me to choose a career in education, since I could think of no better way to make a difference than by guiding the next generation.
I am not alone in my quest to utilize my MPA education to “Do Right.” In my graduating class of 49 students, there is a U.S. Immigration Judge, a Director of Development for People Serving People, a leader in the San Francisco Foundation, a program developer at Aspergers Crossroads,, and many others living out Ms. Conway’s mantra. Similarly, my former MPA students have gone on to serve in the Peace Corps, work as an engineer for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, shape large corporations’ environmental impact policies, work for the United Nations, and do a host of other things as both paid employees and as volunteers, making the world a better place. Take a look at any edition of the MPA Alumni News and you will see countless of examples of former students living out our school’s mission and values.
Today, this message of dreaming big and doing right continues as students gain both the knowledge and the cognitive and noncognitive skills needed to shape the future. In the Lower School, this takes the form of projects such as the Kindergarten service day at Kowalski’s, the second grade partnership with Oak Meadows Senior Living, and the birthday box program to help local families in need. In the Upper School, students complete a minimum of 60 hours of community service prior to graduation, culminating in the Senior Service Fair each spring. Many of our students go well beyond this expectation, such as Ryan Guggenheim, who was recently awarded the Prudential Spirit of Community Award as one of Minnesota’s top youth volunteers of 2018. What does this look like in the Middle School? Good question.
Service learning is an invaluable way to achieve learning outcomes in a meaningful way. Using the service learning standards outlined by the National Youth Leadership Council for guidance, the Middle School is working on bolstering its already robust program so that it embodies MPA’s mission in a more authentic and systematic way. Our goals include broadening students’ exposure to diverse communities and forms of service to enhance learning and develop students’ mindsets. We also seek to develop compassion and empathy through meaningful, ongoing service that is tied to specific learning targets.
In grades five and six, students focus on the environment and basic human needs such as food and water, clothing, and shelter. They serve our MPA family by handling all of the school’s recycling, taking care of the Middle School garden, and working with kindergarten and first grade students several times during the year. They also provide service to the local and global community in a plethora of ways, including pulling weeds for the city of St. Paul, packing food at Feed My Starving Children, gardening for Loaves and Fishes’ community gardens, tying blankets for a local animal shelter, and more. Service learning is integrated into the curriculum in science, English, health, social studies, and advisory.
As students’ cognitive and noncognitive skills develop, the focus shifts from individual needs to community needs and the role of the individual within society. Seventh and eighth graders grapple with issues of power, human rights, and social responsibility. In addition to natural curricular ties, students hear from guest speakers and travel off-site to assist people with disabilities and those struggling with poverty.
Middle School students also have the opportunity to learn about others and learn through service in several i-Term course offerings. For example, last year a group of a dozen students traveled to the Heifer Ranch in Arkansas to study global hunger and poverty issues during a week-long immersive experience. This year, students enrolled in “Social Change: Finding Your Voice” were challenged to learn, lead, and effect positive change as they engaged with over a dozen guest speakers and volunteered at several agencies around the Twin Cities area. Students are also given opportunities for immersive experiences in both French and Spanish-speaking countries, for exploration of a variety of ways of life in “Cultures Around the World” and “Exploring Twin Cities Cultures Through Food,” for learning Japanese language and Inuit art forms, for creating textiles by upcycling materials, and more.
Research shows that students gain academic knowledge and skills, build self-confidence, develop competence in civic engagement, and strengthen interpersonal skills when engaged in meaningful service learning. The Middle School faculty and staff is in the process of enhancing our program for the future, and we look forward to sharing the new elements with the community in the fall.
Margaret Mead wrote, “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” Ms. Conway ingrained this wisdom in her students for decades; it is now our shared responsibility to ensure that today’s students understand their own power and responsibility in the world.
