Mount de Sales Academy (Georgia)

Mount de Sales Academy
Address
851 Orange Street Macon, Georgia 31201 United States
Coordinates	32°50′4″N 83°38′24″W / 32.83444°N 83.64000°W / 32.83444; -83.64000Coordinates: 32°50′4″N 83°38′24″W / 32.83444°N 83.64000°W / 32.83444; -83.64000
Information
Type	Private
Motto	"Touching hearts, shaping lives"
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1876
Founder	Sisters of Mercy
Authority	Independent
President	David Held
Dean	Mary Pat Dadisman
Principal	Michael C. Franklin (Upper School), Kari Alderman (Middle School)
Chaplain	Father Frank Critch
Staff	87
Grades	6–12
Gender	Coeducational
Student to teacher ratio	7:1
Color(s)	Blue and gold
Mascot	Monty
Nickname	Cavaliers
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools
Publication	de Sales Sheet Magazine
Yearbook	Salesian
Affiliation	National Catholic Educational Association
Website	www.mountdesales.net

Mount de Sales Academy is an independent, Catholic, college preparatory school in Macon, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1876 by five Sisters of Mercy as a boarding school for girls. In 1959, it became coeducational and closed boarding school operations four years later. The Sisters served in an administrative capacity until 2002, when the first lay head of school was selected by the Mount de Sales Academy Board of Trustees. The school is governed by its trustees and continues to be sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah.

Mount de Sales, commonly referred to as MDS, is the oldest school in Macon. For more than 140 years, the school has remained at its original location atop Beall's Hill, the former home of Georgia Governor George W. Towns (1801—1854), in downtown Macon, overlooking the antebellum city. In 1963, it became the first school in Middle Georgia to desegregate.^[1]

While it has a Catholic heritage, the school attracts students of all faiths and hosts dozens of international exchange students. Upwards of 600 students in grades 6-12 are enrolled in the upper and middle schools. Approximately one-third of the student body is from ethnically diverse populations. The athletic teams, as well as academic, literary, debate and thespian clubs, are nicknamed Cavaliers and compete in the Georgia High School Association.

History

Early history

In 1871, a group of five Sisters of Mercy from Columbus, Georgia, began a small school known as the Academy of the Sacred Heart Jesus on the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets in Macon.^[2] The school taught students of a variety of faiths, and along with a free school that was operated out of the basement of the old St. Joseph Catholic Church, predated the Bibb County public school system by nearly a year. The free school became one of the area's first public schools in 1872.^[3]

The former residence of Governor George Towns c. 1880s, the original building and site of Mount de Sales Academy

When the mother house of the Sisters relocated from Columbus to Macon in 1876, the Sisters, area Catholics and other donors provided funds to purchase the home of the former governor on Beall's Hill at the corner of Orange and Columbus streets to house the Sisters, novices and boarding students. The name of the school was changed to Mount de Sales in honor of Saint Francis de Sales. In 1876, the new school was chartered as a women's junior college, a boarding school, with the right to confer degrees by the State of Georgia.

Mount de Sales grew quickly and a second building was completed by 1877. When the school's first graduation exercises were held in 1882, it had expanded to comprise three divisions: primary, preparatory and senior. It educated mostly girls in grades 1-12, housing boarding students from around the southeastern United States and Latin America.^[4]

Modernization and expansion

Sheridan Hall

In 1936, Mount de Sales discontinued its primary school, but continued to serve as a girls' secondary school for boarding and day students until 1959, when the first boys were admitted as day students. The girls' boarding school closed in 1963. The school's movement toward becoming a coeducational institution was at the request of the bishop of Savannah. The first coeducational graduating class included 16 boys among 46 total graduates in 1963. The fall of 1963 also marked the racial integration of Mount de Sales as a result of a diocesan edict, making it the first school in Middle Georgia to desegregate.^[3]

David J. Zuver Performing Arts Center

The admission of boys and the racial integration of the school was the culmination of the expansion and modernization of the school that began in the 1950s. In 1975, the middle school returned with the re-addition of an eighth grade. A seventh grade was reinstalled in 1988, followed by a sixth grade 16 years later.^[3]

In 1990, Sheridan Hall was constructed and dedicated on the site of the original convent and boarding school building, which was demolished in the early 1970s. The David J. Zuver Performing Arts Center was completed in 2004. Cavalier Fields, a 70 acres (0.28 km²) athletic complex, opened in 1998 and was fully completed four years later with the addition of a field house. It is located approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of the downtown campus. In 2014, Father John Cuddy Hall, a middle school building, was constructed on the northern end of campus off College Street.^[5]

Academics

The upper school's curriculum includes honor, Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment college courses in most subject areas, along with a broad range of elective courses. Students may choose to deepen their knowledge in one of six academic concentrations through a Diploma Endorsement Program. In the spirit of servant leadership, upper school students must complete 20 hours of community service annually, while middle school students are required to complete service projects. All students take theology courses and attend Mass on Holy Days. Middle school core courses include math, science, social studies and language arts. Students have the opportunity to earn high school credit. The middle school's House System places students in cross-grade level groups to foster positive social development.^[6]

Athletics

Mount de Sales regularly competes in a number of interscholastic athletics in Class A of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA). Teams compete at the varsity, junior varsity and c-team levels. Additionally, the school sponsors cheerleading and a band. Cavalier Fields is home to a football stadium and practice fields, soccer playing and practice fields, track, softball and baseball fields, tennis courts and concessions. Most indoor athletics are held at McAuley Hall, the downtown campus gymnasium. The Cavalier Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters who have made significant contributions to the athletic program.^[7]

Accreditation and membership

Notable alumni

• Tina McElroy Ansa, award-winning novelist^[19]
• Bill Berry, drummer for the band R.E.M.^[20]
• Douglas M. Brooks, former director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy^[21]
• Mary G. Bryan, former president of the Society of American Archivists^[22]
• Betty Cantrell, 2016 Miss America, 2015 Miss Georgia^[23]
• Natalia Livingston, actress^[24]
• Thomas H. McHatton, former president of the American Society for Horticultural Science^[25]
• Cole Miller, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight MMA fighter^[26]
• Micah Miller, professional MMA fighter, formerly for the WEC^[27]
• Arnold L. Punaro, retired U.S. Marine Corps major general^[28]
• Chris Swain, professional football player^[29]

References

External links

• Mount de Sales Academy website
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah