Mounds Park Academy

My family moved around a few times when I was a kid so I attended 5 schools between 5^th grade and 12^th grade. So believe me when I say that in my experience with schools, both public and private, Mounds Park is by far the worst school I’ve been to. Where to begin. For starts, the teaching staff was totally incompetent, and the administration was useless. My teachers for the most part were entirely vapid. They operate under a cookie cutter teaching style. I’ve been a public school with 5,000+ students where teachers were more personable. They may as well saved money and not had an admin staff at all, the results would have been the same.
The student body can pretty much be described as some of the most unfriendly, snobbiest, elitist, and pretentious people you will come across. And some of them, I suppose are good people. Some of them are straight up bullies (even though I don’t like that term and wish there was a better word). There is a lot of bullying that goes (went) on there. The problem is that the administration just looks the other way. When both me and my parents complained to the admin about harassment issues from other students one of the admin members, who by the way is a total lightweight with zero competence, just basically said to deal with it, and try to ignore it. What a stiff. I’m not gonna give names, but he’s currently the director of the upper school after the last one was totally throw out like a dog because he had poor ratings.
Again, the teachers were not good. One history teacher was actually pretty good but she is still totally overrated and very melodramatic. This place caused me a lot of heartache while I was there and I felt completely lost. The student resources there are not helpful. The college guidance process is a complete waste. One of the middle school teachers, is a complete creep who makes highly inappropriate comments to students. A previous reviewer said that «trying something new and failing, or realizing it’s not for you is ok at MPA.» Totally false. Pretty much the opposite is true, I’ll leave it at that. Honestly this school was so terrible on so many levels. None of this is hyperbole. This is just bluntly stating my experience.
It’s very hard to be yourself in an environment like this where everyone is so judgmental. The great irony is that a small private school like MPA is suppose to be welcoming to all kinds of people. The opposite is true. You will only be accepted if you meet a certain criteria first. Once you meet that criteria then you can do much more, but if you don’t have the basics, you will never be welcomed. It’s only friendly to those on the inside. My experiences with public schools is so much better.
With all that said, I understand that they went through some pretty sweeping staff and admin changes during the past couple years and perhaps now things are different. That, and since I was there most of the people that would have been through upper school now are gone or almost on their way out. That leaves a lot of potential. But given that the terrible administrator is now the upper school director, it’s likely things are still very poor. I would seriously reconsider sending your child to this school. I certainly would never send mine here nor would I wish someone else’s children go here, even my worst enemies.

I was fortunate enough to attend MPA for eight years, from fifth grade through upper school, and I truly believe that it laid a foundation for success in both college and life. At MPA, teachers know and care about who you are as a student and as a person. I arrived at college with the confidence to introduce myself to my professors and build meaningful and lasting partnerships with them. The academic experience at MPA is exceptional and is supported by the sheer volume of opportunities available to students because of MPA’s small class sizes. I played three sports, was a member of several student groups, and consistently felt encouraged to try, fail, learn, and grow. Every day. If you want your child to be challenged academically, encouraged to think outside of the box, and have the freedom to try new things … this is the school for your family.

Even after 13 years as a student at Mounds Park Academy, I couldn’t stray too far from the MPA community. Full disclosure: after college, a year teaching in Southern Spain and a stint in the corporate world, I took a position in the office of admissions at MPA. I’m back because Mounds Park Academy feels like home.
MPA created within me lifelong curiosity and global perspective. Because of the small class sizes and nurturing, whole student atmosphere, I could try and do anything.
I started playing the trumpet in fifth grade and I learned quickly that I was not a natural musician. But, with the support of the music faculty who believed in the benefits of the process of learning an instrument, my identity as a musician was still important no matter how out of tune I was.
I tried baseball in sixth grade and discovered that I was really good at running the bases but that was about it. Because of the no cut policy, I was able to continue with the sport until I realized that track and field was probably a better bet.
Trying something new and failing, or realizing it’s not for you, is OK at MPA. My peers and I grew used to doing that inside the classroom and out. It’s just part of the curriculum. Now, as adults, we have the poise to approach new situations with confidence.
It’s no wonder that MPA alums go onto to do amazing things.