Welcome Back, Families!
Dear UMA Community, I hope you have had an engaging and enjoyable summer so far. We are looking forward to the beginning of the fifth year of Upper Mississippi Academy, as we welcome back our returning students and get ready to meet many new families joining us across all grades. Our current enrollment is over 280 students with three sections of grades 6-8, two sections of grade 9, and one section of grade 10.We are pleased that we have doubled our retention rate [...]
New UMA Partnership
UMA is pleased to be partnering with Headway Emotional Health Services to offer on-site mental health services to our students. Headway's presence will allow students and families access to quality mental health services without the strain of removing a student from school to travel to a therapy clinic. Headway is a passionate and focused non-profit mental health and human services organization making a difference in the lives of over 18,000 families and individuals throughout the Twin CitIes metro area each [...]
Moving Forward with Appreciation – from Gala to Board Elections and Beyond
Wow! Thank you ALL for making Friday’s UMA Gala an absolutely fabulous event! Thank you especially to Abbe Payton for leading the charge. And a big thank you to students, staff, parent volunteers, and community supporters who made the event so successful in so many ways. The Gala resonated with what makes UMA so special: Our four experiential pathways, which represent how our school offers hands-on and authentic learning opportunities, provided a theme for the video and the organizational structure for [...]
Announcing the Newly Elected Board of Directors
Upper Mississippi Academy is proud to announce that the following people were chosen through the voting of parents and staff to be on the 2016-17 UMA Board of Directors: Joseph Klancher (parent) Krista Hong (parent) Chris Svensrud (parent) Lesley Ernst (teacher) Chris Mortenson (teacher) Dan Trockman (community member) Congratulations! The new board members will take on their responsibilities at the July 2016 Board Meeting.
Affordable Internet and Low-Cost Computers
Internet Essentials by Comcast offers affordable internet services (starting at $9.95/ month) as well as low cost computers to families who qualify. Eligible families: have at least one child who qualifies for National School Lunch Program; do not have outstanding debt to Comcast that is less than one year old; live in an area where Comcast service is available but have not subscribed in the last 90 days. For more information visit internetessentials.com
Parenting a Teen Who Has Intense Emotions
DBT Skills to Help Your Teen Navigate Emotional and Behavioral Challenges by Pat Harvey, Britt H. Rathbone Parenting a teen with intense emotions can be extremely difficult. This much-needed book will give you the tools needed to help your teen regulate his or her emotions. In addition, you’ll learn the skills for managing your own reactions so you can survive these difficult years and help your teen thrive. The teen years can be daunting for any parent. But if you are the [...]
Free Dental Care
Give Kids a Smile is a charitable program coordinated by the Minnesota Dental Association to provide free care to low-income children in need. The organization will be holding a two-day, statewide event on Friday, February 5th, and Saturday, February 6th. The Association is committed to doing what it can to make quality care accessible to every child in Minnesota. Give Kids a Smile is for any child whose family faces financial or other challenges accessing dental care. No eligibility questions are [...]
UMA Welcomes Harry Adler, New Executive Director
From the UMA Board of Directors: The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Harry Adler as Interim Executive Director of Upper Mississippi Academy, effective immediately. Harry Adler brings over 30 years of experience in education and business management to Upper Mississippi Academy. Mr. Adler served as the Upper School Director for the Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School for four years, after 11 years of leadership and math and science teaching roles at the Twin Cities Jewish Middle [...]
We’re in the News!
Check out these awesome articles in two of the local papers in our new neighborhood -- West 7th in St. Paul... Community Reporter, August 2015 The Villager, August 2015