Montgomery Academy

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The Montgomery Academy
Image:Montgomery academy seal.jpg
Established 1959
School type Independent Day School
Headmaster Archibald Douglas
Location 3240 Vaughn Road
Montgomery, AL 36106
Phone (334) 272-8210
Enrollment 850
Mascot Eagle
Colors Cardinal and Navy
Homepage http://www.montgomeryacademy.org/

The Montgomery Academy is a non-sectarian independent day school located in Montgomery, Alabama. The school comprises two campuses. The Lower School accommodates kindergarten through fourth grade, and is located at 1550 Perry Hill Road. The Upper School campus, for the fifth through twelfth grades, is located at 3240 Vaughn Road. The school's current total enrollment is 858, of which 282. While The Montgomery Academy was founded in 1959 during the period when the desegregation of public schools was hotly debated, the Academy now accepts students without regard to race or religion, and has become one of the top elementary and high schools in the nation.

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[edit] History

The Montgomery Academy was founded in 1959 by a group of prominent citizens in Montgomery, Alabama, including cotton merchandiser and white supremacist Robert Schoenhof Weil. Significant support also came from the Blount, Hill, Bear, McLemore, Mead, McIntyre, Sellers and Rushton families. [1]. The first classes were held in the former governor's mansion on South Perry Street.[2] Initially, students were in "forms" (grades) 1 through 6. The initial 1959-60 "6th Form" constituted the first graduating class in 1966.

Like a number of private schools formed in the United States during this time, The Montgomery Academy is reputed to have been founded in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, which required public school boards to eliminate segregation "with all deliberate speed."[3][4] Archie Douglas, the headmaster of The Montgomery Academy for the last decade, has stated that he believes the school was started in reaction to desegregation and that he is sure "that those who resented the civil rights movement or sought to get away from it took refuge in the academy." He also notes that the school now has a philosophy of openness and does not discriminate with regard to race.[3] (For more on private schools founded to avoid desegregation, see segregation academies).

For the first two decades of its existence, The Montgomery Academy did not admit many African American students. The school was identified as a discriminatory institution by the plaintiffs in Allen v. Wright, a lawsuit by black parents that was decided in 1984 by the U.S. Supreme Court. [5]

The school is part of the National Association of Independent Schools and adheres to the association's standards, which state that the "school will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its admission policies."[6] As of the 2007-2008 school year, the student body of The Montgomery Academy is more than 10% percent non-white. Students from The Montgomery Academy have also been involved in projects in recent years to promote racial harmony and to document Montgomery's links to the civil rights movement.[7]

[edit] Facilities

In 1963, the school relocated to a new site on Vaughn Road, now the premises of the Middle and Upper Schools. As student body size steadily grew, the initial 12 classrooms and lunchroom/auditorium were supplemented by 7 classrooms and a library in 1965, 4 classrooms and a gymnasium in 1966, 5 classrooms in 1967, and 3 montessori areas in 1971.

The Perry Hill Road Campus for the Lower School, which by that time included "Form K" (Kindergarten), was opened in the late 1980s. In 1996 the Vaughn Road campus added the 10,000 square foot Garzon Library, designed by local architects Seay Seay and Litchfield. The library's central octagonal rotunda establishes a focal landmark for the Upper School Campus.

The firm was then later contracted to design a new building, the Mary Katherine Archibald Blount Upper School, as well as a pedestrian bridge connecting the academic campus with newly annexed athletic fields across the busy Vaughn Road. Previously, the land which is now the athletic campus had been an immense lawn for a Masonic retirement home.

In the summer of 2007, the school began a renovation, scheduled for completion in the winter of 2008, of the old Mead Hall, which will include a multi-purpose theater, as well as facilities for the forensics and drama programs. The project also includes a student commons extension to the existing Upper School Building, as well as a new-state-of-the-art track and field facility around the Hutchinson Soccer Field. The track was built by the same company that was contracted to install the track for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

[edit] Academics

The Montgomery Academy's curriculum is entirely college preparatory, with more than 85 different high school course choices in nine disciplines. Students must carry at least five academic courses at all times. Thirty AP and honors sections are offered in all core areas. Each year a number of students rank as National Merit Scholars and semifinalists. Typically, more than 20 students are named annually by the College Board as "Advanced Placement Scholars." The school's visual arts program is known as one of the best in the state and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts ranks the school's program in the top 9 percent nation wide,[8] while the school's Forensics Team is the largest speech and debate program in Alabama and has won 12 of the last 14 state championships.[9]

Graduates of the school routinely attend Ivy League and other prestigious universities and colleges.

The Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the Alabama Association of Independent Schools.

[edit] Athletics

The school's athletics teams and squadrons are nicknamed the Eagles and the school colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The school competes with other Alabama high schools in the Alabama High School Athletic Association. The director of athletics at The Montgomery Academy is Anthony McCall.

For a relatively small school, The Montgomery Academy offers a large number of sports. Fully two thirds of students participate on various teams. The Academy was recognized as the leader in 3A varsity sports for both boys and girls by the Birmingham News.

[edit] Championships

The school has won a number of state championships, including:

[edit] Eagle Day

Every May the student body competes in a series of athletic competitions during "Eagle Day." The finale is a tug-of-war between two factions ("Navy" and "Cardinal") of the senior class, a culminating event that carries the most "points" relative to the rest of the competition. The winner hoists a victory flag, flying its colors for the entire academic year following. In 2008, Cardinal was the victor of the annual Eagle Day competitions.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Robert Schoenhof Weil. Alabama academy of honor (1998-09-02). Retrieved on 2006-05-02.
  2. ^ History of Alabama Governor's Mansion.
  3. ^ a b Connolly, Regan Loyola. "Private schools diversify", The Montgomery Advertiser, 2004-01-12. 
  4. ^ No. 81-757, No. 81-970. Office of the solicitor general, United States department of justice (1983). Retrieved on 2006-05-02. Text of the Allen v. Wright ruling, Supreme Court of the United States, which specifically mentions The Montgomery Academy (among other defending schools).
  5. ^ No. 81-757, No. 81-970. Office of the solicitor general, United States department of justice (1983). Retrieved on 2006-05-02. Text of the Allen v. Wright ruling, Supreme Court of the United States.
  6. ^ Principles of good practice. National Association of Independent Schools. Retrieved on 2006-05-02.
  7. ^ "Journalist recalls violence, change" by Erica Pippins, The Montgomery Advertiser March 30, 2005.
  8. ^ "Thoughts on Graceful Giving…" by Archie Douglas, from Visions (The Montgomery Academy alumni magazine), fall 2002, page 3, and "A message from the Board President" by Millie Houston, from Visions (The Montgomery Academy alumni magazine), winter 2005, page 16.
  9. ^ "A message from the Board President" by Millie Houston, from Visions (The Montgomery Academy alumni magazine), winter 2005, page 16.

[edit] External links