Mounds Park Academy is a PreK-12 independent, non-denominational, co-educational, college preparatory day school situated on a 32-acre campus in St. Paul, Minnesota with all students under one roof. As a top-ranked private school, MPA engages students in a rigorous college-preparatory experience that challenges students to dream big and do right.

MPA’s academic program is demanding, but not draining, and goes far beyond memorization. Students are challenged to apply their understanding to stir the human spirit, stand for justice, and shake the world. This is what MPA calls rigor with purpose and it grounds students in the radical idea that their identity in the world is not measured by a test score, but by the depth and decency of their impact on the world.

Students move equally between the science lab, theater, debate team, and athletic fields, guided by their interests and a sense of intellectual risk-taking fostered by their teachers and mentors. Whether in science, social studies, or another discipline, an experiential, hands-on learning approach cultivates conceptual thinking around complex real-life issues. The wide breadth and depth of the curriculum develops students who are confident, articulate, and who think independently.

The MPA program is designed to inspire and energize. Students of all ages feel great about school and treat each other with respect. Students are self-directed, internally motivated, and as proud of their own accomplishments as they are of their classmates’. They have countless opportunities for cross-age collaboration, character development, mentoring, and role modeling. Only through this type of positive, supportive community are students able to discover who they are meant to be.

MPA was founded in 1982 by Bob Kreischer and Sandy Kreischer Smith after years of research, hard work, and a commitment to providing a college preparatory curriculum focused on educating the whole child and offering experiential learning led by exceptional faculty.