MKA’s faculty and staff members worked hard throughout the summer—focused on their professional development and creating, revising, and refining curriculum and instruction to enhance students’ learning.

In June, 46 faculty and staff members engaged in REIGNITE, a four-day symposium centered on reflection, communication, collaboration, creativity, and professional growth. Participants included six faculty new to MKA for September 2024. Through engaging presentations and a conference-style format, participants explored key themes aligned with MKA's vision of what it means to be an MKA Learner—a Reflective Human, Skillful Communicator and Collaborator, Lifelong Learner, Ethical Leader, and Change Agent. The speakers and workshop facilitators included MKA colleagues; outside experts in child development; and MKA graduate Carolina Lucas ’23, who spoke of her first year at Yale University and how MKA shaped her as a student. She said, “You need someone to model being the MKA Learner so you can become an MKA Learner. MKA teachers made me want to be a lifelong learner.”

REIGNITE provided a platform to:

• Explore: Big ideas like Achievement Culture's Impact on Teaching and Learning, Campus as Lab, and STEM+.
• Discover: Classroom and curricular tools such as Assessment for Learning, Instruction for Engagement, and Intentional Classroom Language.
• Ignite: Summer curriculum development work.

Over 100 curriculum development grants were awarded to groups of faculty to collaborate on projects over the summer. This remarkable number of grants highlights MKA’s commitment to professional development allowing faculty the space to fuel each other’s and their students’ learning and distinguishes us from peer schools.

Current faculty also participated in August Tech Days, exploring new tools to enhance their own and students’ productivity as well as to inspire and deepen learning opportunities. One day provided a deep dive into intentionally designing students’ Veracross access points to enhance student engagement. Meanwhile, new faculty began their onboarding process at the New Teacher Institute at the end of August.

These summer opportunities, as well as allocated professional development days for faculty and staff throughout the year, illustrate the significance of and dedication to our growth as a learning and teaching community. MKA continues to attract and retain exceptional faculty who prioritize continuous learning and professional growth as key components of their journey as educators.