September 1, 2022
from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school
Several years ago, I remember learning from one of our MPA parents about the new 3M research and development lab built along McKnight Road on the 3M campus. Its design was intentional, bringing together scientists from a number of divisions in a space that spurred collaboration and innovation. In addition, 3M has a long-standing practice that allows scientists to spend 15% of their time on a project of their choice. 3M knows that innovation requires time to create, space (physical and figuratively) to collaborate, and resources for implementation.
Tomorrow is the first of four BOLD days that will occur throughout the school year. BOLD stands for Building Opportunities for Learning Distinction and flows directly from 2024ward, our strategic plan. Priority One of 2024ward boldly calls for us to “create custom and personalized pathways of learning for students oriented towards achieving mastery through curricular innovation and by leveraging advances in educational technology.” I get a lot of grief for using the word “bold” as an anachronym, but I like it because it conveys urgency, courage, and confidence to meet the new and emerging needs of our students.
A recent study found that millennial parents have high expectations for their children’s schools, wanting children to be prepared for college, work, and life. Parents hope that their children will become self-sufficient, independent, well-rounded, and confident young adults who will reach their fullest potential. And yet, our world is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Traditional approaches to learning will no longer be sufficient to prepare students for jobs that do not yet exist in this rapidly changing world.
In order to prepare students to live, learn, and thrive, I believe it is imperative to reimagine education today by improving and transforming various components of education to meet the needs of tomorrow through curricular innovation. Innovation is not just doing something new; it is thinking of new ways to improve a product, a method, or an idea. In curriculum, it means adopting different designs for learning to help make learning more meaningful for 21st-century learners.
Teachers typically work at least 54 hours a week, leaving little time to be creative, to collaborate, and to be bold. BOLD days are one aspect of MPA’s overall commitment to curricular innovation. On BOLD days, teachers will reflect, collaborate, share ideas, think critically, plan, and generate creative interdisciplinary, problem/project-based lessons, activities, or courses that align with Priority One of 2024ward. Some of the priorities that will guide their work include:
- personalized learning;
- increasing student agency;
- project or inquiry-based learning;
- leveraging technology;
- mastery or competency-based learning;
- culturally responsive teaching; and
- social-emotional learning.
Thanks to the generosity of our parents and community at last year’s Spring Auction, teachers have access to MPA BOLD Innovation Fund dollars as seed funding for their programmatic initiatives. These funds will support students to grow and thrive throughout their time at MPA and will be used across all three divisions.
What it meant to live, learn, and thrive 25 years ago is much different than what it means today and even more different than what it will mean 25 years from now. Empowering students to live lives of meaning and purpose, to flourish socially and emotionally, and find success in life and career requires us to boldly embrace a future-forward education.
