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.

SPA’s history of exceptional academic achievement and college preparation dates back more than a century and draws from the rich histories of its two founding institutions: St. Paul Academy, established in 1900 for boys; and the Summit School, founded in 1917 for girls. In the four decades since the 1969 merger of the two schools, SPA has retained those original shared strengths: academic rigor, small classes, outstanding faculty, a myriad of co-curricular opportunities, and exceptional college preparation while enjoying a national reputation for both the academic achievement and co-curricular successes of its students.

At the heart of the SPA experience is the authentic love of learning and sense of responsibility that infuses each child’s experience in the classroom, on the athletic field, and on the stage. At SPA, there is no “back of the classroom”: every student’s voice is essential, and each student is an active participant in his or her own learning. We call this “the accountable classroom,” and this responsible and responsive scholarship is what characterizes an SPA education. In every division, students learn to think forcefully and listen carefully. They learn to think like scholars and act with compassion. They approach problems creatively and confidently, and they recognize that personal achievement and collective responsibility are linked.

This approach produces graduates who possess the ability to think critically, taken ownership of their ideas, and offer and receive critique with grace and maturity. When our young alumni/ae leave SPA, they are thoroughly prepared to excel and lead at the nation’s most demanding colleges and universities.