Alumni Archives

May 21, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school

Many years ago I had my first opportunity to speak at a national conference. The meeting was held in Baltimore and I found out that my favorite high school teacher, Br. Jim, lived nearby and was going to be in attendance. I was able to track down his email address and wrote to him, sharing that he was my favorite teacher and the reason I decided to become a teacher. I also asked if he would like to get together for lunch while I was in town. Br. Jim was principal of my high school and had stepped into teaching a ninth grade class at the last minute. He was an amazing storyteller had a way of teaching that made each student feel that he was talking directly and personally to them. Br. Jim was gentle, kind, and brilliant, too. He never talked down to us and found ways to bring all of us along, inspiring us to higher levels of critical thinking. After that year, he moved on to a new job and a new city yet I never forgot him.

Br. Jim accepted my invitation and we met for lunch. As he entered the restaurant, it was clear he didn’t know who I was. Sheepishly, he admitted as much and said he had been trying for weeks to remember me, even pulling out an old yearbook to jog his memory. He said he was embarrassed and began to apologize profusely. I stopped him and that I was not at all offended. To me, what was important was not that he would remember me—it was that I remembered him. He had hundreds if not thousands of students over his career. But for me, there was only one Br. Jim.

All teachers aspire to having such an impact on our students. Of course, teachers strive to be their best, to employ the very best pedagogy, techniques and strategies, and excel in their respective academic area. However, and more importantly, they strive to touch the hearts of their students. Teaching as a career is much more than a job or a transaction between employer and employee. It is transformational. I can safely say that our retirees this year have been transformational in the lives of their students and in the history of the school. Read More

Meet Nicholas Dugas ’11

May 19, 2020

Meet 2019-20 Alumni Association Board member Nicholas Dugas ’11!

Nicholas Dugas ’11 joined the MPA Alumni Association Board because of the role MPA had in his personal growth and development. “Many of my best traits and skills had their seeds planted while I was a student at MPA, and I look back upon my time there fondly. I joined the Board because I want to give back to a place that gave me a lot, and help guide the school in such a way that the experience I had continues to be available to others,” he said.

Nicholas joined the MPA community when he was in fourth grade. His favorite memories stem from being on the speech team–hanging out in Ms. Kunze’s room workshopping, rehearsing, and preparing pieces for Saturday tournaments. He notes that one of the highlights was winning State in his respective category one year. Read More

An Opportunity For Alumni To Give Back

May 19, 2020

Literacy Minnesota’s modified Summer Reads program is a great opportunity to help. This year’s Summer Reads VISTAs will support schools and community organizations with a broadened range of initiatives, which may include:

Working with learners in a wider age range (K-12 instead of K-4)
Participating in distance learning (teaching, tutoring and connecting families with digital resources)
Being flexible and nimble as our host sites adapt to transforming circumstances

Summer Reads VISTAs serve full-time for 8 weeks between June and August. All VISTAs receive a living allowance and a post-service education award or cash stipend. Learn more at literacymn.org/summerreads. Ready to interview? Schedule a virtual one here.

Thank you to Randy Comfort and Lisa Pederson for sharing this wonderful opportunity for alumni to help others during COVID-19.

MPA Talks Goes Virtual

May 19, 2020

Are you interested in sharing your story with the MPA Community? MPA Talks is an opportunity to come together, gain perspective and be inspired. We are looking for alumni who will join fellow community members to share impactful stories virtually for our community. If you are interested in speaking for the event or would like to recommend a speaker please contact the Development Office at alumni@moundsparkacademy.org.

Kian Dahlberg ’16 Receives Nishi Luthra Senior Prize

May 18, 2020

Congratulations to Kian Dahlberg ‘16 on winning the Nishi Luthra Senior Prize, which is awarded to an outstanding senior physics major based on performance in their physics courses at Washington University in St. Louis. Kian is graduating this spring with a double major in physics and statistics, and a minor in computer science. She will be moving to Seattle this summer to begin work as an Environmental Test Engineer for Boeing Space.

Nick Gardner ’15 Debuts Kernza® Perennial Grain

May 11, 2020

Nick Gardner ’15 is one of just three employees at Perennial Pantry, a small startup, but he is helping to bring about big changes to the world of sustainable agriculture.

On May 4, Perennial Pantry debuted Kernza® Perennial Grain, a grain in the wheat family. Kernza is a perennial, which means it can be left in the field for several years without needing the annual tilling that damages topsoil and leads to erosion and nutrient losses. Kernza develops deep root systems that help sequester carbon, filter water, and keep continuous living cover on the land, creating a habitat for pollinators, song-birds, and wildlife. Kernza is designed to be climate positive, meaning that growing it doesn’t just have a net zero carbon footprint, but actually fights climate change by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Nick has been heavily involved in the Kernza project. He has conducted product research, done mathematical modeling, written web content, and edited promotional videos. He also built a grain separator and dehuller himself (with the help of his dad’s shop) using open source plans and his own design work, saving the startup tens of thousands of dollars.

“I’ve been doing a lot of dehulling, cleaning, and milling tests,” he says, noting that grain distributors like Perennial Pantry can be a forgotten part of the supply chain. “Processing grain and flour takes a lot of work! It’s hard enough with something like barley or wheat, but Kernza is so new, and it’s been bred with ecosystem services and taste in mind, not uniformity.”

Nick is also involved in baking research and familiarizing himself with Kernza in order to communicate most effectively with chefs, bakers and brewers. “I love working at Perennial Pantry–every day is something new. One day I’m fine-tuning settings on our processing equipment or doing research to develop best practices. The next day, I’m communicating the amazing potential of perennial agriculture to journalists, consumers, friends, or just about anyone I can reach. I have a lot fun.”

Perennial Pantry has partnered with nationally known organizations including the Land Institute in Kansas and the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative to launch Kernza. They are bringing necessary agricultural products to consumers in a just manner while also communicating the impact that perennials can have on sustainable and climate positive supply chains in agriculture.

Nick earned a double major in Environmental Justice and Mathematics at Williams College and is thankful that much of what he’s doing has roots in what he learned at MPA, and in college. His work with Perennial Pantry combines his lifelong interest in environmental sciences with a passion for doing right. “MPA encouraged excellence in a lot of things. Of course I loved math and science, but what I learned in social studies and fine arts comes into play on a daily basis too.”

“One day I’m choosing a color palette for a new advertisement, and the next I’m using mathematical modeling to predict the carbon impact that 1 million acres of Kernza could have over time,” Nick says. “I’ve felt very thankful for my work ethic and the diversity of my education. And it began at MPA.”

Learn more Nick’s work with Kernza at the Perennial Pantry website and on YouTube!

Together We Will Make It To The Finish Line

May 7, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

One of the ways I am navigating this challenging crisis has been to start running again. Some of you may know that I took a bad fall while on a run two and a half years ago and broke bones in both my ankle and my foot. It’s been a long road to recovery as I’ve dealt with both physical and mental trauma. For some time, I have been mentally preparing myself to start running again but until recently, I lacked the resolve. Several weeks ago, after a particularly long day, I reached a breaking point. So I ran. I needed to reassure myself that I can overcome anything, that pain does indeed result in gain, that this is hard but I can push myself through it by the strength of my resolve, and that it’s all worth it on the other side.

You have most likely heard me say that we are in marathon, not a sprint. The irony of my fall was that I had just recently achieved a personal milestone, completing the ten-mile run of the Twin Cities Marathon. Never having been a runner before, I slowly worked my way toward that ultimate goal. In a marathon, there are mile markers and in my training runs, there are landmarks to measure progress. A friend reminded me recently that we have no such guideposts at the moment; we are engaged in an endurance event without mile markers, working toward a finish line that may not even be visible. Read More

Give From Home Week

May 6, 2020

As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re facing the most unprecedented economic challenge of our time. In response, May 1-8 was announced as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. Hundreds of MPA community members have already given and we are so thankful for the ways our community has risen to this challenge and supported one another. On behalf of our students and staff, if you’ve already given, we thank you. Let’s meet unprecedented times with unprecedented action to provide our students, families, and faculty and staff with the resources they need.

Give From Home For MPA

May 2, 2020

COVID-19 is our world’s most unprecedented challenge of our time. In response, May 5 was announced as #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving and May 1-8 as #GiveFromHome week in Minnesota. This worldwide effort will help nonprofit and educational organizations like Mounds Park Academy in very important ways.

Your gift will support the MPA Community Care Fund to ensure every student and staff member has what they need to dream big and do right. These flexible funds will allow us to respond to emerging needs, including:

financial assistance for MPA families in need;
technology access for teachers to continue enhancing virtual learning;
employee support funds for wellness and emergency resources;
supporting the MPA Class of 2020 as they prepare for their college expenses in the fall and face the inability to host graduation parties to mark this milestone and gather the necessary supplies for their journey to college; and
the cost of additional supplies to ensure a whole child education can continue, including art supplies, books and e-books, software and hardware, and devices for families without access to adequate technology or wi-fi for virtual learning.

Now, Next, And Beyond At MPA

April 30, 2020

by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School

My thinking these days on navigating this crisis has been informed by one of my favorite bloggers, Pascal Finette. In his recent post, he wrote about a global consulting firm that looks at the world in three time dimensions: Now, Next and Beyond. The world, observes Finette, has changed dramatically. “In the world BC (Before COVID-19) Next was one to two years out, and the Beyond was somewhere past the five-year mark. Today, Now and Next are happening in parallel and at the same time, while Beyond is AC (After COVID-19).” AC, wrote Pascal, “requires a very different view of the world and leaders to show up in very different ways.” I would like to use this framework to share with you how MPA is successfully navigating this crisis and planning for the future.

Now
During the last six weeks, we’ve made an incredible shift to online learning, ensuring the continuity of learning for our children. We have done so while holding fast to our whole child philosophy and our commitment to rigor with purpose. As I said in the beginning, “first different, then better.” Modeling the resiliency we inspire in our students, we have been engaged in an ongoing process of designing, implementing, assessing, and adapting teaching and learning to meet the needs of our students in our new reality, even as the crisis itself evolves.

Plans are in place and unfolding to ensure success in the continuity of operations, admission and enrollment, and the fiscal health of the school. I am confident that we will weather the storm.

Continuity of Operations: In order to sustain the quality of the education you’ve come to expect, we must continue to support our teachers, cover all of our non-teaching expenses, and invest in innovative ways to deliver our curriculum for our students. In fact, the school has invested in additional operating expenses associated with adopting and implementing online learning tools. In addition, we have a number fixed costs. For instance, even though we are not at school, we still have costs to maintain the building, pay utilities, mow the grass, etc.
Enrollment: BC (Before COVID-19) recruitment and admissions were strong and exceeding expectations. I am very happy to share that both new enrollments and re-enrollments continue to be strong today. New enrollments are trending significantly higher than at the same time last year, and re-enrollment is on pace. Even in the face of uncertainty, families are seeing clearly the value of MPA—perhaps in contrast to how other schools are managing remote learning. Please continue to share MPA in your networks.
Financial Health: Through managing expenses and carefully monitoring cash flow, we are positioned well to end the fiscal year. Philanthropic giving has been very strong BC and our reimagined Spring Auction was a phenomenal success. To assist families and employees who are experiencing financial difficulties, a Community Care Fund has been created.
Employees: We will continue to compensate all of our dedicated and hard-working faculty and staff through the end of the school year. Wherever possible, staff have been reassigned to support the overall operations of the school. We are making every effort to honor the everyday commitment they make and to ensure their continued employment during these uncertain economic times. We must retain our highly qualified and dedicated teachers and staff as we look forward to next year.
Lunch and Busing: One of the things we keep hearing from MPA families is their gratitude and appreciation for how MPA teachers and staff have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have asked how they can give back and support the school during this difficult time. We will have more ideas for you soon, but one easy way for your family to consider is donating back your hot lunch and transportation costs. Click here to express your desire to this or to receive a refund.