Building on Core Values
Our Mission
Morgan Park Academy embraces an overriding desire to inspire students to lead lives of purpose, to learn to work hard, to strive for excellence and to appreciate the diversity that exists in this world.
The mission of Morgan Park Academy is to prepare our students, via a rigorous liberal arts program, to succeed in college and in life by helping them to:
- appreciate their own uniqueness as contributing members of a diverse society;
- develop intellectually, physically, creatively, emotionally, and socially;
- cultivate personal integrity and social responsibility; and
- make a positive difference in the world.
An Emphasis on Partnership and Excellence
At Morgan Park Academy, our highly talented and dedicated faculty works in close partnership with parents and students alike to achieve the best learning experience for each child. We emphasize academic excellence in conjunction with aesthetic, ethical, and physical development. As a result of the Academy’s commitment to educating the whole individual, our graduates are well prepared to succeed in college and in life.
Inspiring Students to Lead Lives of Purpose
Whether serving their country, as many of our military era graduates have done, or leading lives of purpose in their chosen professions and communities, our alumni are able to rely on a solid foundation of studied and experiential knowledge to enrich the world around them.
Evolving Over Time
Morgan Park Academy has thrived for more than 130 years because we prepare our students to be leaders and active participants in a changing world. Just as the world evolves with new discoveries and technologies, and the challenges they create for societies, so too has Morgan Park Academy evolved over time.
What began as an outstanding military academy grew into an innovative, coeducational independent school and has developed into the premiere, culturally diverse, college preparatory school that we know today. Morgan Park Academy is uniquely positioned for further success in the increasingly global community of the 21st century.
Building on Our Heritage
Enhancing the Value of an MPA Education
Throughout this evolution, what has endured and what will continue to be the hallmark of Morgan Park Academy is our unwavering commitment to quality and our persistence in challenging our students to reach their full potential. They deserve nothing less than the highest quality, most well-rounded education we can provide. To continue to achieve this, we must dedicate ourselves to re-evaluating and enriching our programs and campus learning environment.
A Strategic Plan for the Future
As part of Morgan Park Academy’s ongoing strategic planning for the future, the need for facility improvements has emerged as a top priority. A careful assessment of academic and co-curricular programs revealed that increased space is greatly needed for physical education and athletics, as well as academics and the visual and performing arts. As a result, Morgan Park Academy developed a Master Plan that has enabled us to embark on our first organized effort to enhance the campus environment on a large scale.
The Academy partnered with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, one of the world’s leading architecture, urban design, and engineering firms, to create a Campus Master Plan that charts the course for the physical campus over the next quarter century. Due to the size and scope of this plan, the Academy’s leadership divided the process into a series of phases, the order of which has been determined by urgency of need.
Building on Promise
Why the Gym? Why Now?
It became clear when the gymnasium’s second floor was closed due to fire code revisions, that the first phase of implementation for the Campus Master Plan would be the construction of a new athletic facility. The Board of Trustees investigated the possibility of simply renovating the current building. However, the Board concluded that, even with the second floor fully operational, our physical education and athletic programs have grown beyond the capacity of the existing facility.
Physical Education is a Stated Part of Our Mission…
Morgan Park Academy has earned its ranking as one of the top independent schools in the Chicagoland area. The academic and co-curricular accomplishments achieved by our students year after year affirm this exemplary reputation. It is important that these hard-working students learn and grow in an environment that provides a full range of opportunities for their academic, physical and creative development.
Morgan Park Academy’s physical education program focuses on developing a commitment to life-long fitness and health education. Daily physical education classes are an important part of the curriculum for the Academy’s students. These classes provide opportunities to experience the joys and benefits of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle, while developing leadership, cooperation and team-building skills in an environment that emphasizes respect for rules and the need for safety. In addition to regular classes, students also have the opportunity to hone their athletic skills by participating on one or more of the Academy’s 30 sports teams.
…and a Critical Element to a Complete Education
While we are thrilled by an increase in student participation in sports, we are, in turn, frustrated by the severe lack of space for class activities, team practices, and games. There is such a high demand for court time that coaches have no choice but to schedule early morning practices, a challenge for a community that attracts students from as far away as Oak Brook, Illinois, and Schererville, Indiana. In addition, the athletic program must currently rent space in a small church three blocks from campus. This arrangement is a great hindrance to our programs, especially during the winter months.
Morgan Park Academy students deserve to have access to an athletic facility that offers more than one undersized gym floor. Adding a second court, refurbishing the multipurpose spaces and fitness center, and updating the locker rooms and showers are essential for our physical education and athletic programs’ continued growth and success.
Building on Community
We Need Your Help...
For every school, there is a moment in time when the past meets the future; when the leaders who have come before – and those who are here now – must join together to build a stronger future.
For Morgan Park Academy, that moment is now.
Together, we can enhance the learning environment and overall educational experience for every student … for generations to come.
Please join us.