May 11, 2023
from Bill Hudson, head of school
I just returned from my oldest nephew’s wedding in Charleston, South Carolina, the first in the next generation of my family. It was a wonderful weekend, and I thoroughly relished spending time with family and friends. The setting, a historic building on the low-country shore of Charleston Harbor, was delightful. I also had the honor of serving as the officiant for the ceremony, another first. Despite the many graduations I have addressed and the many school events I have presided over, I was incredibly stressed and nervous.
I also took the opportunity to visit the Porter-Gaud School, an independent school in Charleston. I have become friends with the head of school, DuBose Egleston, and enjoyed spending time with him and his administrative team. I’ve come to know DuBose, and Porter-Gaud, through our shared association with the Malone Scholars Program and the Malone Family Foundation.
The Malone Family Foundation is dedicated to improving access to quality education—particularly at the secondary school level—for highly capable students who lack the financial resources to best develop their talents. Mounds Park Academy is proud to be one of the 48 schools across the United States chosen to partner with the Malone Family Foundation. Since 2012, 15 MPA students have graduated as Malone Scholars. We are incredibly proud of our Malone Scholars and are thankful to call them MPA students. They undergo a rigorous application process and not only persist but thrive at MPA. The Malone Scholarship program is a model we hope to expand so more students can access an MPA education in the coming years.
The Malone Family Foundation was founded in 1997 by Dr. John C. Malone, a well-known communications and media executive and investor. Raised by his mother in a single-parent household, he fell behind in public high school and became associated with an unhealthy peer group. His mother pleaded with the local independent school to give her son a chance. It was life-changing for Dr. Malone, “Receiving a scholarship to a great independent secondary school where I found teachers and students engaged in an exciting learning process, a peer group with whom I could have fascinating and provocative discussions, and where I was challenged to see many sides of each issue, was the undisputed basis for the success I’ve enjoyed—both personally and in my corporate career.”
From 2000 through 2012, 48 independent secondary schools throughout the United States and one college program for high-school-age girls were selected through a rigorous process to receive a $2,000,000 endowment from the Malone Family Foundation. These partner schools were selected on the basis of their academic caliber; the quality of their staff; excellent accommodations for gifted and talented students; strong AP/IB and enrichment programs; attention to the individual student’s needs, interests and talents; financial strength and stability; a commitment to financial aid; and an economically, culturally, ethnically, and socially diverse population.
In addition to the Malone Scholars Program, being a partner school with the Malone Family Foundation has benefitted MPA in other ways. MPA has been a member of the Malone Schools Online Network (MSON). Exclusive to Malone partner schools, MSON provides motivated, upper-level students with a variety of academically challenging courses beyond what would normally be available to them. These interactive seminars bring students together from across the United States with dedicated teachers (from Malone partner schools) in real time. MSON joins the best of independent school education with the latest video conferencing technology to chart new territory in online learning.
There are currently 27 MSON member schools, and students have the opportunity to choose from 46 courses ranging from Organic Chemistry to Ancient Greek, to Philosophy in Pop Culture. This year, there are 21 MPA students taking MSON courses, such as Advanced Topics in Chemistry, Arabic, German, and Positive Psychology. Several MPA teachers have or will be teaching MSON courses. Upper School math teacher, Jay Noland, is teaching a MSON course, Mathematical Modeling Approach to Social Issues. Next year college counselor Justin Quam and Spanish teacher Marisue Gleason will each teach an MSON course.
Each summer, the heads of school of Malone partner schools are invited to participate in a three-day conference in June on the campus of Stanford University sponsored by the Malone Family Foundation. Heads benefit from presentations from Stanford faculty and administrators, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and from one another. It was at the conference that I first met DuBose and learned from him and his school about sexual abuse prevention. The Malone Schools Summit has been an invaluable professional development opportunity and one I look forward to every year.
Finding myself in Charleston, it was hard not to mix a little business with pleasure. Connecting with trusted and valued colleagues and learning from their schools has been a joy, personally and professionally. I am incredibly grateful to John Malone and to the Malone Family Foundation for the impact they have had on MPA and MPA students.
