Mount de Sales Academy (MDS) is a

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in Macon,

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. It was originally founded in 1876 by five

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, an order of nuns, as a

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for girls. It is the oldest independent school in Middle Georgia and the first to racially integrate.School profile
macon.com. Accessed August 28, 2022. The school is located within the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia.

, operating on an independent basis.

History

Early history

In 1871 during the post-

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, a group of five Sisters of Mercy from

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it of ...

, began a small school known as the Academy of the Sacred Heart Jesus on the corner of 4th and Walnut streets in Macon. In 1876, the mother house of the Sisters relocated from Columbus to Macon. With help from others, the Sisters purchased the former home of

Georgia Governor The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

George W. Town for use at the corner of Orange and Columbus streets on Beall's Hill in downtown Macon. On February 28, 1876, the new school was chartered under the name of Mount de Sales in honor of

Saint Francis de Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

. When the 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

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and

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Modernization and expansion

In 1936, Mount de Sales discontinued its primary school. But it continued as a girl's secondary school for boarding and day students until 1959, when the first boys were admitted as day students. The girl's boarding school closed in 1963 and the school continued as a coeducation day school. The first coeducational graduating class included 16 boys among 46 total graduates in 1963. The fall of 1963 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. A year later, it graduated its first two black students: Eileen Williams and Cheryl Odom. David J

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 in 2004. The Sisters of Mercy served in an administrative capacity until 2002, when the first lay head of school was appointed by the Board of Trustees, the school's governing body. Mount de Sales continues to be sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. The original

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

and boarding school building was demolished in the early 1970s and replaced with Sheridan Hall in 1990. New buildings were constructed over the following decades. Cavalier Fields, a athletic complex, opened in 1998 approximately west of the downtown campus. In 2015, the school underwent $1 million of enhancements to align with redevelopment changes in Macon's College Hill Corridor, a two-square mile area between

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

and the downtown business district. Father John Cuddy Hall

Academics

The upper school's curriculum includes honor,

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(AP) and dual-enrollment college courses in most subject areas, along with a broad range of elective courses. Upper school students must perform 20 hours of community service annually, while middle school students are required to complete service projects. The middle school's House System places students in cross-grade level groups to foster positive social development. All students take theology courses and attend

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on Holy Days. While Mount de Sales has a Catholic heritage, about two-thirds of students are of non-Catholic faiths. Students hail from more than 30 Georgia zip codes and the school hosts dozens of international exchange students.

Controversy

In 2014, the school's administrators fired Flint Dollar, an openly gay music teacher who planned to marry his longtime male partner, based on the Catholic church's doctrine against same-sex marriage. Opposition to the firing included students and parents. In 2015, both parties reached a confidential legal settlement.

Athletics

Mount de Sales competes in a number of interscholastic athletics in Class A of the

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

(GHSA), where it previously was a member from 1961 to 1980. Prior to the 2014-15 school year, it competed for 33 years in the

Georgia Independent School Association The Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) is an association of private, independent, and parochial schools throughout the state of Georgia. It was established in 1967 as the Georgia Association of Independent Schools, at the time a large n ...

(GISA). The Cavaliers, as the school's teams are nicknamed, compete at the varsity, junior varsity and C-team levels. The school also sponsors cheerleading and a band. Cavalier Fields is home to Mount de Sale's football stadium, soccer fields, a track, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts and practice fields. 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.

Fall sports

* Cross country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Han ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summe ...

Winter sports

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports ...

Spring sports

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Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

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Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

Accreditation and membership

* Southern Association of Independent Schools *

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

* National Middle School Association * Georgia Middle School Association * National Catholic Education Association * Mercy Secondary Education Association *

National Association for College Admission Counseling The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, is an organization of more than 25,000 professionals from around the world dedicated to serving students transitioning from secondary to postsecondary education ...

* Cognia *

National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

(1990–91)

Notable alumni

* Tina McElroy Ansa, novelist *

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, drummer for the band

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* Douglas M. Brooks, former director of the

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Office of National AIDS Policy * Mary G. Bryan, former president of the

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Betty Cantrell Baciliky Andris "Betty" Maxwell (née Cantrell; born September 1, 1994) is an American singer, actress, model, author, and beauty pageant titleholder from Warner Robins, Georgia, who was crowned Miss Georgia 2015. On September 13, 2015, she wa ...

, 2016

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, 2015 Miss Georgia * Gwendolyne Cowart,

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pilot in World War II *

Natalia Livingston Natalia Livingston (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Emily Quartermaine (for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award) and Rebecca Shaw on ABC's ''General Hospital'', and for playing Taylor Walker on the NBC ...

, actress *

Cole Miller Cole Miller (born April 26, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the featherweight division in the UFC. His nickname "Magrinho" means "skinny" in Portuguese. Mixed martial arts career Before giving ...

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featherweight

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

fighter * Arnold L. Punaro, former U.S. Marine Corps major general *

Lisa Sheridan Lisa Sheridan (December 5, 1973 – February 25, 2019) was an American actress. Known mainly for her work on television, Sheridan was a regular cast member in cult favorites series such as, ''FreakyLinks'' and ''Invasion''. Life and career S ...

, actress

References

External links

Mount de Sales Academy website

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount De Sales Academy (Georgia) Preparatory schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Schools in Macon, Georgia Catholic secondary schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Sisters of Mercy schools Private high schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Private middle schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Educational institutions established in 1876 1876 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)