The Skills Teens Need Before College Prep. The Strategy Tomorrow's Leading Districts Need Now.
A 6-week program that gives rising 10th and 11th graders self-knowledge, life design and planning skills, and real tech and execution skills to thrive — before the SAT, AP, and admissions pressure hits.
Plus strategic and technology advisory for districts ready to turn plans into measurable outcomes.
The problem
The system wasn't designed for this.
82%
of managers say Gen Z lacks needed soft skills
Source: Harris Poll
56%
of high schoolers report persistent sadness: 20yr high
Source: CDC
55%
of teens hang out with friends 2+ times weekly (20+yr low)
Source: Atlantic
57%
of Gen Z lacks savings to cover 3 months' expenses
Source: Bank of America
And it's not your fault. Dating back to the 19th century, our education system was built to produce workers for the industrial economy — not to help teenagers figure out who they are and where they're going.
FOR PARENTS
"Your teen is overwhelmed (or lost). You've tried tutors, apps, and pep talks. But nothing connects into an actual system."
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FOR DISTRICT LEADERS
"Your strategic plan is gathering dust. Your data tells you what's wrong, but you need a bridge from strategy to execution."
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The Approach
Good plans are everywhere. Execution is the gap. We built MPA to help you close it.
Districts have strategic plans. High-achieving students have college plans. What both are sometimes missing isn't vision — it's the operating system to close the distance between intentions and outcomes.
1) At the district level, that means building the capacity for rigorous diagnosis, focused priorities, and accountability that sticks.
2) At the student level, it means developing the decision-making, execution habits, and life design skills that schools don't have time for — but that college and career demand.
Different scales, same fundamental challenge. MPA is built to work at both.
Summer 2026 "Designing High School" — (Online, Hybrid Format: Live & Asynchronous, Open to Bay Area Rising 10th & 11th Graders)
12 - 15 students. 6 weeks. The skills and frameworks that change everything after high school.
$1,500
A limited number of need-based scholarships are available — inquire during your free consultation call.
Compare: private school runs $20-60K/yr. Admissions coaching up to $10K.
Download the Program Info Sheet -->
Priority enrollment is opening soon. This cohort is limited to 15 students.
Built by a Practitioner
The students MPA has worked with — and the districts — share a similar challenge: the potential is clear, but the path forward isn't.
Neil Dandavati founded MPA because he'd seen that challenge up close, in a San Francisco classroom. The life design course he developed there won a national teaching award and scaled to 15 Bay Area schools and more than 2,000 students a year through a partnership with the Pearson Foundation.
Since then he's carried the same framework further, advising Alameda County district leadership on long-term planning, and leading strategy and operations at an early-stage AI company. The context changes. The work is the same.
That work is what Master Plan Academy is built on. The students and districts we work with leave with more than just a plan — they leave with the clarity and confidence to act on it.
I especially valued the clear, practical strategies for college admissions and the way you made the activities and digital tools engaging.
— Martin Medeiros, parent of 10th grader, Alameda, CA
The 5 Critical Life Skills Your Teen Won't Learn in School
(And How to Build Them Before College)
Download the free guide and join 200+ families already in the MPA community.
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