We were thrilled to induct a new class into the Morgan Park Academy Hall of Fame in September 2024: retired science teacher Ann Brown, pre-kindergarten through third grade principal Kari Misulonas, and the late history teacher Martin J. Wolf.

ANN BROWN

Over the course of 25 years (1979-2004) teaching Upper School biology, Brown earned a Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching, and inspired countless MPA students on their journeys to become scientists, doctors, and dentists.

She helped to define an era of Upper School science education alongside two fellow Hall of Famers — chemistry teacher Mark Linnerud and physics teacher Dr. Larry Brown.

Brown also shepherded students in a variety of extra-curricular organizations, including the National Honor Society. She is fondly remembered by her former students for her smile and the indoor zoo she had in her classroom, bringing science alive with everything from hanging spider plants to a boa constrictor.

“Ms. Brown made science class better than I could have ever thought,” said Laura Swan MacMorran, a member of the Class of 1988.

KARI MISULONAS

Misulonas has made Morgan Park Academy a central part of her life since she was a teenager, and so many people — including generations of our youngest learners — are much the better for it.

Misulonas returned to her alma mater in 1989 to join our faculty, becoming a core member of our Early Childhood faculty for what would become more than three decades as a kindergarten teacher.

As her two children made their way through MPA, Misulonas held just about every possible leadership role for a faculty member — including Lower School assistant principal, Early Childhood curriculum leader, summer camp director, and director of student services.

Deeply committed to the MPA mission of educating the whole child, she played a key role in the development of our early childhood curriculum and educational philosophy from the 1990s to today.

Since 2023, she has been our principal for pre-kindergarten through third grade — excelling in a role for which she has been a natural fit.

MARTIN J. WOLF

Coming to Morgan Park Academy after 27 years teaching at the Glenwood School for Boys in Glenwood, Illinois, Wolf made an immense impact in 16 years (1974-1990) as a member of our Upper School history and social studies faculty.

He combined both a disciplined approach in the classroom with an ability to connect with students that earned him the affectionate nickname “Uncle Marty.”

It was a shock to the entire school community when he passed away at age 67 in 1990, near the end of the school year.

After his passing, Wolf was remembered by Head of School David Jones as the type of teacher that “graduates came back to see.”

“He was a very fatherly kind of figure,” Jones said. “As a teacher, he was traditional, demanding and formal in his presentation, but he was capable of making allowances in individual situations. In his personal relationships with students, however, he was friendly and close with lots of them. He kept in touch with students after they graduated and kept up on their marriages, careers and children.”

Wolf grew up in Shelbyville, Indiana, and received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Northwestern University. He was in the Navy from 1942 to 1945.

At MPA, he led the Key Club for many years, inspiring our annual senior service award to be named in his memory. He also led two honor societies and the Model United Nations club.