Randolph-Macon Academy
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1892 the Randolph-macon Academy (R-MA) is a coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduates in state of Virginia, USA. The school features both a boarding and day school program. Randolph-Macon Academy's goal is to maintain a safe, positive, and productive environment for spiritual, intellectual, athletic, and character development. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Upper school students (Grades 9-12) are required to participate in the Air Force JROTC program and have the opportunity to learn to fly in school-owned aircraft.
Situated on its own "campus within a campus," the middle school provides an interactive and structured community for younger students at the school, separate from the hectic life of the upper school.
Extracurricular opportunities at the school includes the Speech and Debate team, twenty or more varsity sports, band, chorus, drama, color guard, and drill teams. The athletic teams are affiliated with the Delaney Athletic Conference, a collection of several independent schools in northern and central Virginia.
Randolph-Macon Academy aims to help students achieve their potential through personal attention in small classes, tutorial sessions, mentoring groups, and supervised study halls. Advanced placement courses, and honors courses are available, and can culminate in college credit hours. As a mark of respect for the school's academic devotion, the 84 graduates of the senior class of 2005 earned over $4.9 million in college scholarships.
The 135-acre campus overlooks Front Royal, VA. This is only 70 miles west of Washington, District of Columbia.
History
- 1892: Randolph-Macon Academy was founded by Dr. William W. Smith as part of the Randolph Macon College preparatory school program. The original twenty-six acre campus had one main building which housed classrooms as well as dormitories. The original building that was built, resembled a castle in its design and architecture.
- 1918: Randolph-Macon Academy transformed into a military school. The program later undertook the moniker of the "National Defense Cadet Corps."
- 1922: Randolph-Macon Academy finished paying off all but one of its original debts. Later this year, the construction of Rives Hall began. This new building served as an auxiliary gymnasium.
- 1927 On 10 January, the original building built in 1892 burned down completely. The origin of the fire which destroyed the building is unknown. As a new building was being constructed, the academy continued to operate. The students were housed by local residents and classes took place in municipal buildings until a new building was constructed. In October 1927, this new building became a reality.
- 1929: With the onset of the Great Depression, Randolph-Macon Academy came into hard times.
- 1932: Enrollment reached a total of only 78 cadets
- 1933-1934: In an effort to reduce losses, Randolph Macon's military academy in Bedford, Virginia was closed. Cadets from Bedford were moved to Front Royal for the 1933-1934 school year.
- 1954: Randolph-Macon Academy began a massive expansion stage in its history. The school purchased an additional 63 acres of land, built a headmaster's home, staff living quarters, and Melton Gymnasium. Also, Rives Hall converted to classroom use
- 1960s: Randolph-Macon Academy received enough funding from the United Methodist Church to build a 500 seat chapel. This began Randolph-Macon Academy's affiliation with the Methodist church. Also, Randolph-Macon Academy maintained a large and steady enrollment primarily because of forced public school integration.
- 1970s: The enrollment at Randolph-Macon Academy dropped dramatically. This was largely in part of the general American consensus of less uniformity during that decade and the economic instability of The United States of America during that time. In a desperate effort to bolster the low enrollment base, Randolph-Macon Academy adopted the United States Air Force Junior ROTC program. The school abandoned its all male, traditional, army style military program, and searched for a new applicant base. Along with its new Air Force affiliation, Randolph-Macon Academy turned co-educational for the first time in its history during this decade.
- 1974: Randolph-Macon Academy admitted its first African American applicant, being the last of Virginia's seven military boarding schools to do so.
- 1980s: Randolph-Macon Academy managed to increase the applicant base from its lag in the 1970s, and near the end of the decade, Randolph-Macon Academy began another expansionary period. The military prep. school annexed an additional forty-five acres, built three new buildings to compensate for the growth in admitted applicants, and increased facilities for students enrolled who are, and were, of the female gender. These three buildings were Crow Hall, a classroom building, Turner Hall, a female dormitory and new cafeteria, and the Fulton Building, a maintenance facility and musical arts building. A Lower School campus was also built on the Upper School grounds. This "campus within a campus" was established to help younger children become candidates for matriculation into the Upper AFJROTC School.
- 1995: A fire destroyed the third and fourth floors of Sooner-Payne Hall. This, along with flooding from the aftermath, destroyed the main building of Randolph-Macon Academy. Several rumors abound as to what caused the fire. Allegedley the fire was caused by a cigarette being placed in the wall while still lit. It is rumoured that a student died. Officially, the cause of the fire was undetermined. The damages were estimated at around $4.5 million USD. Luckily, no one was hurt during this unfortunate event. During reconstruction, cadets lived in an area hotel and attended class as normal, utilizing other facilities on the campus. Sonner-Payne hall was gutted and rebuilt with improvements. These improvements included computer networking, air-conditioning and new windows.
- 1997: President and Headmaster Major General Henry M. Hobgood (USAF Ret.) took his position.
- 2005: At the end of the '04-'05 school year, Colonel Ivan G. Meith, USAF, Ret. retired from his position as Commandant of the school. During the summer of 2005, Randolph-Macon Academy's current Commandant, Colonel Gary N. Sadler, USAF, occupied his position.
Trivia
- Rives Hall was originally a gymnasium
- Randolph-Macon College had originally established two Randolph Macon Academies. One was established in Front Royal, and the other one was established in Bedford. The Randolph-Macon Academy located in Front Royal, Virginia is the only one that remains in operation today.
- Crow Hall is named after a Texan realtor named Harlan Crow. According to public record, Crow donated $25,000 dollars to the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. This was the same group that aimed to discredit John Kerry's military service record during the 2004 presidential election.
- Randolph-Macon Academy is home to a set of Air Force Honor Guard statues. There are only three of these sets of statues. The other two are located at the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Air Force Memorial. They were paid for in part by the aforementioned alumnus Harlan Crow. They cost more than 400,000 dollars USD to produce.