Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Antiracism Archives

Meet International Student Alum Peter Wu ’19

December 1, 2023

What are you currently doing professionally and personally?
I am working as an art teacher at an elementary art institute. At the same time, I am a freelance animator, film director, and production designer.

Where did you attend college, and what experiences or relationships have inspired you along the way?
School of Visual Arts, New York City. Observations, stories, and people from different backgrounds have inspired me to create different film ideas to speak for minorities in society. My connections with famous artists and producers such as Bob Camp and Mario Menjivar have led me deeper into the filmmaking industry.

How was your experience at MPA different than other schools?
Since I transferred from another American high school to MPA, I have seen that MPA is more accepting of students with diverse backgrounds. Not only the education, but the faculty and students are more supportive. Read More

A Spotlight On MPA Athletics

November 27, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the November 27, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

What factors contribute to a student athlete’s success, both on and off the field? How does a small-by-design school like MPA foster athletes who go on to do incredible things?

A balance between athletics, academics, and the arts is not found at every school. Often students’ priorities conflict and they must choose one passion area over another. MPA students are encouraged to dive deep into many passion areas and the supportive environment makes doing so possible.

When Nate Bander ’09, coach, saw potential in basketball player Yahya Madar ’19 and inspired him to join the track team as a high jumper, a transformation began, and history was made. What might seem like a sports story is so much more.

Through our no-cut policy, low student-teacher ratio, and committed and passionate community, student athletes are known, understood, and seen by their teachers, coaches, and mentors. They receive help when they ask for it. They are fiercely cared for. They are encouraged to take risks and dream big. Click here to hear their story.

Relationships Matter

October 27, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the October 28, 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

At MPA, relationships matter, and every child is known. We pride ourselves in being a community that connects with one another. We collaborate with one another, we lift each other up, we provide a support system when needed, and we celebrate each and every one of our accomplishments. As a small-by-design school, every day we witness how relationships have the power to transform lives.

Through our 7:1 student-teacher ratio and dedicated faculty and staff, students receive help when need it, they are fiercely cared for, and they are encouraged to dream big. This is, and always has been, an integral part of who we are as a school.

So when Upper School history teacher Katie Murr and Salmah Elmasry ’21 were met with an opportunity of a lifetime–an opportunity that would require close collaboration and partnership between a teacher and student–they did not hesitate to work together and do right by their community.

When teachers see, hear, and believe in their students, remarkable things happen. Hear their story here.

MPA Alum Receives Award Posthumously

July 17, 2023

The MPA Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2023 MPA Alumni Association Award recipient, Jaye Sinkfield ’12. This award honors alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach. Award recipients are real-world inspirations for both current students and fellow alums to dream big and do right.

Jaye was nominated posthumously in honor of their impact on the world. Tragically, Jaye passed away in January 2023, leaving behind lifelong friends, family members, and hundreds of people who felt their impact and were inspired by Jaye. We sat down with Tammy Sinkfield, Jaye’s mother, to learn more about how and why Jaye lived and the legacy they left behind.

Jaye and their twin brother, Jordan, were born to Tammy, a single parent who never dreamed of having children due in part to fibroids that prevented pregnancy. “That’s why I say, ‘They are my blessings, because God saw it fitting that I should be their mom,’” says Tammy, an inpatient nursing supervisor at Gillette Children’s where she has been for more than 25 years. “At their birth, from the moment Jaye came into my view as the doctor lifted them from my womb, Jaye was the most beautiful androgynous precious being. Though I hardly knew what androgyny meant, I understood in that instant what it was when I saw my first born baby, Jaye, this beautiful combination of beauty, grace, masculine, and feminine. Everything about this baby was symmetrical, balanced, beautiful, and perfect. Jaye was like the Black Gerber Baby. Everybody commented on what a calm and gentle spirit that Jaye had at birth. That carried them through life.”

When the time came, Tammy took great care to find a school for Jaye and Jordan, interviewing more than 12 and selecting Four Seasons A+ Elementary. “We knew we wanted private schools. I was always in private schools. But I couldn’t afford MPA at the time,” she shares. The twins thrived in elementary school, often serving as the leads in the annual plays. They were excellent performers. They came to MPA in Middle School—Tammy took a second job, the twins received a scholarship, and they got here. “I wanted them to have opportunities.” Read More

Sharing Summertime Joy

July 11, 2023

This message is from MPA’s Office of Admission from the July 2023 issue of InsideMPA. Click here to get in touch with Admission and learn more!

Happy Summer! We hope you’ve had a fantastic few weeks enjoying the sunshine, summertime activities, and making memories with family and friends. So far, here are our highlights of summer:

Meeting new friends at Grand Old Day, Pride, and Wordplay! These community events were magical, many of them coming back from a several-year hiatus. At Grand Old Day, we danced, gave out spectacular prizes, and brought the street to life with decorative chalk drawings. Pride was such a special celebration, and sharing it with our community and the greater Twin Cities was pure magic. And this past Saturday was Wordplay, where we had so much fun celebrating our favorite authors, doing summer reading challenges, and completing a larger-than-life word search!
The progress on our new outdoor track! The base is now completely down, and we already have a new sandpit! The progress is going smoothly and it’s just a matter of time until it’s ready for Panther athletes to train on heading into the fall athletic season.
Summer at MPA! Campers are making the most of summer by launching rockets, testing recipes in the teaching kitchen, engineering in the Makerspace, and improving their athletic skills. Don’t miss the photos!

Kao Kalia Yang Shares Her Story Of Hope

June 1, 2023

World-renowned author Kao Kalia Yang treated the junior class and Lower School students to readings from her books and shared words of wisdom during a visit on May 30. After two years of Zoom visits with the junior class, Yang was able to visit campus in person for an inspirational morning that expanded to include most of the Lower School.

The junior class read her memoir “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir” this spring, which tells the story of the ramifications of the Vietnam War on the Hmong people and the Yang family’s journey to settle in Minnesota via a refugee camp in Thailand. While Yang writes beautifully of the challenge and triumphs in her immigrant experience, the chance to hear her read from the memoir deepened the experience and added dimension to the work. After Yang read, she took questions from the juniors and formed response packed with wisdom and poetry. The juniors eagerly shared their admiration with her as she signed their books. The intimate 75 minutes was a highlight for the year and a meaningful way to punctuate the American Studies course.

An author of four children’s picture books as well, Yang also met with the Lower School children in two separate sessions. She shared her autobiographical book, “From the Tops of the Trees” about her life as a Hmong refugee child, born in the Ban Vinai Camp in Thailand. The students were inspired by her story of hope and resilience. Fourth graders created thoughtful questions in advance to share with Ms. Yang. It was an amazing experience for the children.

The Bold Innovation Fund provided the support for this important opportunity.

Meet The Tanwongsval Family

May 15, 2023

What’s the best thing about being part of the MPA community?
A bit of context–our family is an international nomad and our kids have studied in international schools in Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and China. What we seek in a school is positive diversity (not just cultural but viewpoints), appropriately challenging academics, a small teacher-to-student ratio, a small and tight-knitted community, and warm and welcoming educators and administrators. MPA ticked all the boxes and can easily rival any top international schools we’ve experienced throughout our moves.

What is your favorite MPA tradition or event?
We love the orchestra. Our daughter is not much of a musician, but she enjoys the supportive environment and the opportunity to perform with her friends.

Complete this sentence, “MPA teaches my child…
to be caring, curious, and courageous (3C’s). Read More

Host Family Volunteers Needed—Referral Bonus Available!

April 24, 2023

We are so fortunate to welcome international students from around the world to MPA through our International Student Program. As the global pandemic ends, interest in studying at MPA through this program is rising steadily! With new interest comes the need for additional host families to care for these exceptional students.

A $10,000 per student stipend is paid to host families to cover the cost of room, board, and transportation from August to June. Typically, families host for at least one full year and sometimes for a student’s entire MPA experience. As you warmly welcome this student into your home, you will gain a first-hand understanding of another culture, a lifelong relationship with your students, and so much more.

If you are interested …
Contact Cory Becker-Kim, international student program coordinator, at international@moundsparkacademy.org or 651-748-5541. Get started on the host family application form here.

If you know someone outside our community who is interested …
Please share mpa.link/host with them. When they reach out, share your name, and become an approved host family, you will receive a $200 referral bonus in the form of a Visa gift card.

Thank you in advance for your interest and/or for recommending this opportunity to your friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

Bisa Butler Inspires Applied Painting Students

April 21, 2023

Upper School Applied Painting Class paints a piano together every year, as part of an in-depth collaborative project in conjunction with the local non-profit, Keys 4/4 Kids.

This—MPA’s 11th collaborative painted piano—references work by fabric artist Bisa Butler.

Butler is known for quilted portraiture of influential people. The composition on the piano combines multiple of Butler’s quilts, showcasing her portraits of Lauryn Hill and Nina Simone. Butler’s husband is a DJ who created a playlist of songs that correspond with her quilts. We enjoyed listening to his playlist in class, along with Lauryn Hill and Nina Simone, too.

During the process, students learned a lineage of artists who work(ed) with fiber or on fiber, including Faith Ringgold, Sam Gilliam, Anne Labovitz, Diane Itter, Kehinde Wiley, William Morris, and Miriam Shapiro. While working collaboratively in shifts on the piano, students also designed their own original paintings that are inspired by fabric, incorporate fabric, or are painted on fabric.

The painted piano, along with the related individual paintings done by the same students, will soon be on display in the main hallway outside of the band room. The piano will eventually be placed somewhere in the metro area for the public to enjoy, as part of the Keys 4/4 Kids Pianos on Parade program.

Cultural Diversity Day At MPA

April 14, 2023

Take a gastronomic tour around the world as we share sweet and savory delicacies from around the world and an international drinks bar. Attend a cooking demonstration in our wonderful new teaching kitchen, go home with some cool body art from an expert henna artist, and try your hand at global crafts like French decoupage, Brazilian carnival masks and Taíno petroglyphs. You will also be able to enjoy musical and dance performances by our talented MPA community! Chat with community members who will have booths set up to share their culture and/or offer samples of their cuisine. Please sign up to volunteer here.

Would you like to share your culture through cuisine, music, dance or art? We invite you to be a part of our cultural showcase—please email seema_anwar@hotmail.com.