Global competency at MKA is a foundational part of what it means to be an engaged, informed, and purposeful learner. Through intentional opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, students learn to examine complex issues, appreciate diverse perspectives, interact across cultures with empathy and respect, and take meaningful action to improve their communities. Whether through academic inquiry, dialogue, or immersive travel experiences, students grow as global citizens who are curious about the world, confident in their ability to collaborate, and committed to making a difference.
HOW IS OUR MISSION REALIZED?
Daily Globally-Focused and Multicultural Curriculum
MKA is committed to providing a meaningful experience for lifelong learning so its students can become impactful members of an inclusive, global community.
Global Leadership
We are all on a personal leadership journey to serve as leaders and create positive change.
- Integrity - Who am I, and who am I hoping to become?
- Empathy - What does it mean to be a member of a community?
- Service - How am I contributing? How am I serving as a leader?
Global Leadership Committee
The student and faculty members of the Global Leadership Committee (GLC) believe in the importance of thinking critically about and cultivating empathy for the world beyond our walls. As a school community, we should try to not only understand the workings of our own government, culture, and society but also those of others. GLC facilitates and supports discussions and community organizing concerning the world beyond our walls. As a socially conscious school, it is the entire MKA community’s responsibility to utilize the outspoken nature of the student body and help the students make a difference in the world.
Complementing these efforts are a rich array of clubs, cultural societies, and competitive organizations that foster community engagement and celebrate diversity. Students also benefit from experiential opportunities—such as travel, exchange programs, and wilderness leadership—that deepen their understanding of the world and their place within it.
All of these elements are connected through MKA’s Guiding Logic framework, which integrates curricular, co-curricular, and community engagement to ensure that global citizenship is lived and learned inside and outside the classroom.
- Exchange and PenPal Programs
- Semester Away Opportunities
- International and Cultural Night
- World Central Kitchen
GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
The Global Experience Program immerses students in culture, conservation, and leadership across continents, empowering them to think critically and cultivate empathy for the world beyond our walls to gain the skills necessary to become informed, ethical, and purposeful global citizens. Rooted in experiential learning and global citizenship, these unique opportunities encourage students to lean into discomfort, build confidence and compassion, and deepen cross-cultural understanding. By connecting classroom learning with real-world impact, Global Experience trips foster personal growth and meaningful bonds between students and faculty, enriching both individuals and communities in ways that extend far beyond travel itself.
One of the most rewarding aspects of language study is the chance to use the skills learned in the classroom and experience another culture in an authentic setting. To that end, students who study Chinese, Spanish, and French at MKA have the opportunity to participate in a travel experience to practice their language skills and become immersed in one of our wonderful partner communities.
For students studying Chinese, we offer a trip to Xi’an and Beijing, China, every other June. For students studying Spanish, we have two programs: one for two weeks in Argentina and Uruguay, and another in Chile for four weeks. Our Chile Exchange program is with Instituto Abdón Cifuentes, a prestigious private school in San Felipe, Chile. A small group of students from that school comes to MKA in February, and every other year, MKA Spanish students travel to Chile in June. Please note that MKA students may participate in either or both parts of the exchange.
In the alternate years when we are not traveling to San Felipe, we offer a shorter Spanish language immersion experience in Argentina and Uruguay open to all Spanish students that includes a shorter homestay but maintains that close relationship with a partner high school in Buenos Aires. Currently, we offer a program every other year in Morocco where students can practice some French language skills as well as investigate the French colonial legacy in the region and spend four days with a homestay in the town of Azrou. We are in the process of developing a partnership with a school in France and hope to have that program running within the next two years. Finally, we offer a program every other year in Japan that includes a three-night homestay as well as an immersive tour through several of Japan’s major cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima.
Every year, we offer students a backpacking and wilderness leadership experience in the United States and/or abroad. The trip centers on a three-to five-day backcountry hiking and/or kayaking experience. The other component of the trip alternates between completing a Wilderness First Aid Training course and an outdoor adventure course. Past locations include Zion National Park, California’s Lost Coast, Big Sur, and Point Reyes; Denali in Alaska; and Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand. ARCC Programs, a leader in educational travel, organizes the logistics for the on-the-ground portion of our trip and provides us with a certified Wilderness First Responder as our backcountry guide for each hiking group in the United States, while we work with a local nonprofit, Whenua Iti, for our New Zealand program. These trips provide students with a chance to develop leadership skills and confidence in their ability to explore the outdoors.
Open to all students who wish to extend their community engagement experiences beyond our local area, MKA sponsors community engagement trips each year to both domestic and international locations. During spring break, we offer an international community engagement experience in Antigua, Guatemala, where students can use Spanish language skills in real-life situations while working with From Houses to Homes, a local NGO that provides quality housing, education, and healthcare in the Antigua area. In June, we offer a domestic community engagement opportunity in Heart Butte, Montana, where students engage and work with the Blackfeet community. Projects may involve ranch-hand work, community cleanup, and soup kitchen volunteering, among other activities in response to the community’s needs. Whether at home or abroad, students forge personal connections as they work and live alongside our community partners. Students also participate in excursions that allow for unique geographical and historical experiences. Trips are generally eight to ten days in length and take place during the first week of spring break or after final assessments in June. Students may apply the service hours they earn through their community engagement experience toward their graduation requirement.
Every year, we build trips that seek to empower young leaders to find innovative solutions to the world’s pressing problems. Our Spring Break Morocco program, mentioned above, fits into this model, but we also do this by partnering with the Tumaini School, a K-12 school in Karatu, Tanzania. The goal of this experience is to help both MKA and Tumaini create student-centered learning environments where students learn to think critically, communicate across cultures, collaborate, and find creative solutions to problems. In the process, young leaders find their voices and develop essential global competencies. During this experience, students also explore the Kilimanjaro area and go on a safari in the Ngorongoro Crater. We are also in the process of building a Global Leadership experience in Southeast Asia.
Each year (during May Term or the summer), we offer students a travel opportunity to develop their research, problem-solving, and project-building skills in a cooperative, team-based environment outside the United States using the design thinking process. Design Thinking offers a human-centered model focused primarily on building empathy for others that students can utilize to tackle even the most complex social, political, and economic problems. Every other year, we offer a Spring Break trip to Iceland focused on climate change and renewable energy. Our May Term experiences have included a similar experience in Iceland, a deep dive into public policy and design in Scandinavia, and a partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. In the summer, we have offered an exploration into economic development, entrepreneurship, and cultural identity in the Balkans.
