MMI Preparatory School

MMI Preparatory School

Location
Freeland, Pennsylvania United States
Information
Type	Coeducational College Preparatory
Established	1879
Founders	Eckley and Sophia Coxe
Head of School	Thomas Hood BS, MS
Assistant Head of School	Charles Seidel BA, M.ED
Faculty	31 (Highest degree earned: 52% Bachelors, 48% Masters)
Enrollment	250
Student to teacher ratio	8:1 student:teacher
Color(s)	Red and White
Athletics	Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Golf, Cross Country, Baseball, Softball, Soccer
Team name	Preppers, Lady Preppers
Average SAT scores (2010)	1702
Tuition	$12,250
Website	mmiprep.org

MMI Preparatory School is an independent, non-sectarian, coeducational college preparatory day school for grades 6-12. MMI is located between Centre and Ridge streets in Freeland, Pennsylvania. The current president of MMI is Thomas Hood.

History

On May 7, 1879 Eckley B. Coxe, the son of a prominent Philadelphia judge and the owner of a large mining area, opened his own school - the Industrial School for Miners and Mechanics.^[1] Twenty-nine male applicants, ranging in age from 12 to 24 walked into a small two-story building in Drifton, PA, seeking an education. Eighteen were rejected due to the school's high standards. Of the 11 who were accepted, eight successfully completed their first year. The first instructor was O.J. Heinrich. He was succeeded by John R. Wagner, who also managed the school until 1893 when Coxe selected a Board of Directors to manage the school.^[2]

Early Curriculum

At the time, classes were held two hours a night, six nights a week. When the mines were closed, students met for six hours a day. They studied spelling, reading, writing, grammar, composition, algebra, bookkeeping, geometry, trigonometry, mechanical drawing, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, drafting, mining, and other courses. The curriculum was designed to produce intelligent foremen, not engineers.^[3] Coxe often had to go to Europe for the technical training he needed, and he wished to make it available in the United States.^[4]

Remodeling

In 1888, a fire completely destroyed the Drifton school. The school reopened, now called the Miners and Mechanics' Institute of Freeland, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1893. It was located on the third floor of a building on Centre St in Freeland. Within five weeks, the board of directors decided to lease eight more rooms in another building to accommodate increasing enrollment. It was at this meeting that the name of the school was changed yet again, to the Mining and Mechanical Institute of Freeland.

Coxe delivered the Founder's Day Address on May 31, 1893. The school was incorporated in Luzerne County Court on July 31, 1894. Coxe began offering scholarships for the school's best students. The school began offering day classes in 1893.

Growth

Enrollment at MMI continued to grow, and in December 1902, the front wing of the new school was built where MMI stands today. It was largely funded through contributions from Eckley Coxe's wife, Sophia Georgianna Coxe. Classes started in the new wing in the spring of 1903.

In 1914, Mrs. Coxe funded the construction of the rear wing of the existing building, which housed the chemistry and physics laboratories. She also funded the construction of the gymnasium across the street in 1925. She continued to help subsidize student tuition costs.

Effects of Political Upheaval

During the Great Depression, night school enrollments dropped off. The night school briefly reopened between 1940 and 1950, but after World War II, it was closed again for lack of enrollment.

Fire of 1964

In 1946, the front and rear wing were joined by an addition. In 1964, the main building was gutted by fire. On June 9, hours before graduation, smoke was seen coming out of the tower. By 3:00 P.M., the tower had fallen and burned. The roof caved in. The interior of the front wing was completely destroyed, but the rear wing and all school records (dating back to 1893) were saved. During the commencement exercises, the board of directors promptly announced the school would be rebuilt. On October 30, the newly restored building was dedicated.

Acceptance of Women

In 1970, the school began accepting young women. The name of the school was changed to MMI Preparatory School because officials felt that the old name did not adequately describe the school's function or mission, which was to prepare students for the rigors of college academics.^[1]

Basketball Championship

The Preppers 1973 boys' basketball squad won a state basketball championship, the first and only independent school to do so.^[5]

Expansions

In 1977, MMI expanded its curriculum by adding a 7th and 8th grade (Mid-School) to the Preparatory School. The Century II Building, containing the cafetorium, computerized library, science labs, and modern classrooms, opened in 1979.

In 1996, the school spent a quarter-million dollars on a new computer lab, which a state computer consultant termed "one of the most rich and full-featured networks in the state." The project was largely funded through alumni contributions and outside donations.

For the first time in its 120-year history, MMI Preparatory School opened its doors to sixth grade students at the start of the 1999-2000 school year. The first class had 20 students and was taught by Mrs. Maria Greco.

In 1999, work began on a $4.6 million expansion project that added a new Science/Technology wing and a new Athletic and Drama Complex. The Old Main Building was also remodeled at this time. The building project was funded through a bond issue secured through the Hazleton Industrial Development Authority, as well as private donations. This project marked the largest, single private investment made in the local area at that time.

In 2009, MMI announced its plans to build a $3 million privately funded sports complex on 29.5 acres (11.9 ha) of undeveloped land in Foster Township. The complex, which consists of high school regulation-size baseball, softball and soccer grass turf fields as well as several nature trails that also serve as cross country courses,^[6] was completed in 2011, and was used for sports games beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.

In 2011, the school began construction on a new library open to students and the public after school hours. The new building, officially named the Joseph A. Turri Library and Learning Center, was funded in large part by MMI Class of 1945 graduate Joseph A. Turri. After its groundbreaking in December 2011, many local legislative officials visited the library construction site, including Pennsylvania State Representative Tara Toohil and Pennsylvania State Senator John Yudichak. The library's design was greatly inspired by the Linderman Library at Lehigh University and features cathedral ceilings, pillars and a fireplace.^[7]

Controversial Dismissal of Vice President Dr. Jaclyn Fowler

Background

From 13–16 November 2012, a team of Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools evaluators were present at MMI to assess its eligibility for reaccreditation under the Middle States Association's criteria for independent school accreditation. Vice President Dr. Jaclyn Fowler compiled a comprehensive self-study report amounting to several hundred pages on nearly every aspect of the school as a reference for the validation team.^[8] Fowler, affectionately known to her students as Dr. Jackie, came to MMI in 2008 and served as Vice President after serving as the director for the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence.^[9] Using her report, along with conclusions drawn from interviews conducted with faculty and students and observations of classroom instruction, the validation team determined that MMI successfully met the criteria necessary for reaccreditation. While their report was overwhelmingly positive and praised the school for its advanced curriculum, excellent instructors and fostered student passions, the team was concerned about faculty and staff feeling intimidated by Head of School Thomas Hood and stipulated that an outside consultant would be necessary to evaluate the situation and help establish trust before accreditation would be granted. From their report:^[8]

Some faculty and staff feel that communication from the Head of School toward them and others was meant to intimidate. The Visiting Team found faculty and staff reluctant to talk about this, as some feared for their jobs if they were too open with the Team.
[...]

While the Visiting Team was impressed overall with the dedication and competence of the staff, a general culture of intimidation appears to pervade relations between some faculty and staff with the Head of School. The Board of Directors should study and address these issues beyond the stay of this Visiting Team. An outside consultant may be better able to identify issues and begin to build trust and communication between the Head, Board, and faculty and staff.

[...]

Therefore, the MMI Validation Team will recommend full accreditation to the Commission with the following stipulation:

that the Board engage a school consultant to help on a longer term basis develop the communication skills, administrative structures, clarity of roles, and balance between governance and operations that characterize strong independent schools.

Dismissal

On 2 January 2013, Dr. Jaclyn Fowler was unilaterally dismissed from her position by Head of School Thomas Hood without warning or discourse. All information concerning the dismissal was withheld from faculty, students and parents, all of whom were instructed not to speculate as to the nature of the dismissal and to proceed with classes as usual. Seriously concerned with the secrecy surrounding Dr. Fowler's dismissal, a group of students, comprising mainly of seniors, held a sit-in during which they attended school but remained in the Coxe Commons refusing to attend classes until they were granted a meeting with Head of School Hood.^[9] The purpose of this meeting, according to the students, was not to contest Dr. Fowler's termination, but rather to assess how the spontaneous mid-year dismissal would affect other students and what the senior class could do in order to help the student body move forward, since Dr. Fowler had played such a major role in both the lives of the students and the internal operations of the school.

Reactions

Dr. Fowler's termination created much controversy among students, faculty, parents, alumni and even those outside of the MMI community. While many felt that the mid-year dismissal of Dr. Fowler and its resulting consequences were rash, unjustified and deserved an explanation, others felt that personnel matters were not the concern of those outside of the administration. In his speech as valedictorian of the MMI Class of 2013, David Polashenski broached the dismissal of Dr. Fowler and his disappointment with the lack of action taken by the administration to address the widespread consequences and disunity experienced by the MMI community as a direct result of the dismissal:

The events and atmosphere which greeted us in the new year proved to be far less ideal than anything we had imagined or hoped for. As much as we'd like to ignore it, the fact is that the adversity which resulted [from Fowler's dismissal] had several negative impacts within our school, within the faculty and within the student body. Anyone who claims otherwise is simply not being honest with themselves. For me personally, the most troubling aspect was watching the Class of 2013 lose much of the group identity, which had taken us literally years to build, in a matter of days. [...] I also know that during the same time period, the MMI community has faced an identity crisis quite similar to the one experienced by our class this year. The events of this school year, along with the lack of meaningful action taken in response to them, have, in many ways, changed MMI, changed the school community from a strong-knit community into a school of individual students, teachers and administrators that lack a group identity. However, by reembracing the principles of truth, knowledge and justice, professed extensively in our school's written philosophy, I am certain that MMI is fully capable of regaining the identity for which it has become revered.

Lawsuit

After Dr. Fowler's controversial dismissal, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began an investigation of MMI after allegations of gender discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After an extensive 180 day investigation, the EEOC and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission jointly authorized Dr. Fowler to initiate discrimination proceedings against MMI.^[10] The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is presided over by the Honorable Malachy E. Mannion. In the complaint, Fowler claims that, despite receiving excellent performance reviews, Head of School Thomas Hood frequently harassed and verbally abused her, often referring to her as "bitch," "flighty," and "stupid," and that upon approaching the Board of Directors with her concerns, suffered retaliation at the hands of Hood.^[11] From her complaint:^[12]

The harassment and discrimination by Hood included, but was not limited to:
Constantly referring to Plaintiff as "bitch;"

Constantly cursing and screaming at Plaintiff, using phrases like: "because I'm the fucking president" anytime Plaintiff questioned his decisions, behavior to which male employees were not subjected when they interacted with Hood under similar official circumstances;

Belittling Plaintiff both in private and in public settings by referring to her as "ditsy," "stupid," or "flighty," where such derogatory terms were never used to describe male employees;

Prohibiting Plaintiff from participating in any public outreach and professional associations in which he and other male employees regularly participated, despite Plaintiff's position as Head of the Academic Program;

Purposefully excluding Plaintiff from the following, from which he never excluded male employees:
Photographs of the staff

Promotional materials for the school

Ceremonies such as Honor Society inductions

Television commercials to promote the school

Professional development opportunities funded by MMI;

Regularly threatening Plaintiff in October and November 2012 with "you'll never make it through the fucking year!"

MMI, represented by Margolis Edelstein, believes the lawsuit is without merit, stating, "we're confident we're going to prevail."

Curriculum

Every core course offered at MMI holds the Honors distinction, demonstrating the coursework is in-depth and comprehensive. In addition, MMI offers multiple Advanced Placement courses designed to prepare students for college-level classes. Students are also offered a wide variety of electives to choose from, distributed across every core subject.^[13]

Athletics

MMI is a member of the Wyoming Valley Conference of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Though MMI is better known for the academic performance of its students than for their athletic performances, the 1973 MMI boy's basketball team became the first and only private school in Pennsylvania to win a state championship.^[5] Despite this, the school is well-equipped with a tennis court, basketball court and volleyball court. A new sports complex completed in 2011 offers a full soccer field, baseball field Softball Feild and cross country trail that also serves as a public nature trail.^[14]

School Statistics

According to the school's website and several press releases, MMI has an average of 99% of every graduating class moving on to college.^[15] Many MMI graduates have gone on to earn CPAs, MDs, MBAs and PhDs. A few notable graduates are: Dr. David W. Stiller class of '61, physical science teacher (now retired), Dr. William Shergalis, class of '58, president emeritus of MMI, Rev. William O'Hara '71, former chaplain of the Hawaii State Mental Hospital and former professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Commenius University in Bratislava (now deceased). The alumni also include many community leaders and a former member of the Delaware House of Representatives (1992–2002), Atty. Richard A. DiLiberto, Jr. ' 79.

References

External links

Coordinates: 41°00′48″N 75°53′52″W / 41.0132°N 75.8978°W / 41.0132; -75.8978