Massanutten Military Academy
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Massanutten Military Academy (MMA) is a
coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
al
military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
for grades 5 through 12 and one academic
postgraduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...
, located in
Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...
, United States.


History

The Massanutten Military Academy, named for the nearby
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
, was established by the Virginia Classis of the
Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
in 1899. The school opened on September 12, 1899, with 40 students, half of whom were boarders. From the beginning the school was coed, with the first graduating class in 1902 consisting of three boys and three girls. In 1905, the first of two significant events in the history of the school occurred: Howard J. Benchoff was appointed the school president. He stayed in that position for nearly five decades, to be succeeded for the next decade and a half by his son. Lantz Hall, the second structure on the academy grounds, was begun in 1907 and dedicated in 1909, to accommodate a growing student population. During the early years of his stewardship Benchoff established several policies. The first was expanding the school size to include number of students, staff, buildings, and acreage. The second, as a result of an otherwise undocumented "incident", was limiting the boarding department to boys beginning in 1910. The last policy, and the second significant event in the school's early history, was adopting a military program. While the program was not implemented until 1917, early in his tenure Benchoff described the goal of a military program as "to train the boys with a discipline that is valuable and give them that easy and graceful carriage which is an accomplishment in any gentleman's claim to culture" In 1930 after receiving an application and inspecting the existing program, the U.S. War Department formally made the school a
JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...
unit "placing it on a par with the highest rated military schools in the country". Currently, the school has a strong academic program with the graduating class of 2017, which consisted of 24 students, earning more than $2,000,000 in scholarships alone. The school also has a strong STEM Program that focuses on experiential learning.


Administration

Kim Elshafie is the current head of school. She is the former dean of academics as well. The Commandant of cadets is Lieutenant Colonel Lester Layman, U.S. Army (Ret.). Average enrollment is around 125 students MMA is fully accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).


Honor code

As part of its mission the academy has a
Cadet Honor Code In the United States, a Cadet Honor Code is a system of ethics or code of conduct applying to cadets studying at military academies. These codes exist at the federal service academies, such as the United States Military Academy and the United S ...
patterned after the one at
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
. "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." The Cadet Honor Council consists of juniors and seniors selected by the senior class and the faculty, as approved by the head of school. When a suspected honor code violation is reported, the Honor Council faculty advisers convene the council for a hearing at which the cadets involved are required to explain their conduct. The Honor Council recommends punishment and/or other measures appropriate to educate the Cadet Corps about the expectations of honorable behavior. Final approval lies with the head of school. Continued, repeated violations of the Honor Code may warrant dismissal from the academy.


JROTC program

MMA's
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...
(JROTC) is consistently recognized as an Honor Unit with Distinction. Since 2011, MMA Cadets have qualified to compete in the JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl (JLAB). Six times they have qualified for Level Two of the competition and three times they have qualified to compete at the national level. For the 2017 competition, MMA is placed in the top 24 programs in the nation and the #1 team in the 4th Brigade of Cadet Command.


Notable alumni

*
Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of th ...
, professional
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 c ...
player;
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
and
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
*
Frank Mason III Frank Leo Mason III (born April 3, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for SLUC Nancy Basket of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas, where he was the starting point guard for the Jayhawks. F ...
(2012), professional
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 ...
player for the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
*Admiral Alfred C. Richmond, Commandant
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
(1954–62) * Mia Khalifa,
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and former
pornographic film actor A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...


References


External links


Official websiteBoarding School ReviewAssociation of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS)Massanutten Military Academy JROTC Insignia
{{Authority control 1899 establishments in Virginia Boarding schools in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1899 Military high schools in the United States Preparatory schools in Virginia Private high schools in Virginia Private middle schools in Virginia Schools in Shenandoah County, Virginia