Founded in 1892, Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) is a coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduates in Virginia, USA. The school features both a boarding and day school program. Randolph-Macon Academy is affiliated with the United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

. It is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...

. The school also includes a flight program.

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 Cessna

Cessna

The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...

s. The Flight Program is run by Laura Abraham and Ryan Koch.

The middle school campus is less than a quarter-mile away from the upper school campus. This campus provides a separate dorm and classrooms for the younger students. Advanced students may go to the upper school campus to take high school courses.

There is an intense rivalry between R-MA students and the county school students. R-MA students are referred to as "Jakes" (short for "Yellow Jackets") by some residents of Front Royal.

Randolph-Macon has a high amount of diversity, with students from about 12 different countries enrolling each year. The largest group of international students is currently the Chinese.

Extracurricular opportunities at the school include the Speech and Debate team, twenty varsity sports, band, chorus, drama, color guard, and drill teams. The athletic teams are affiliated with the Delaney Athletic Conference

Delaney Athletic Conference

Delaney Athletic Conference consists of 13 high schools from Northern and Central Virginia. The Delaney Athletic Conference is named after Joe Delaney, a former athlete from Northwestern State University.-Mission statement:...

, a collection of several independent schools in northern

Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...

 and central Virginia. The Middle School participates in the Valley Middle School Conference.

The 135 acre (0.5463261 km²) campus overlooks Front Royal, VA. This is only 70 miles (112.7 km) west of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. It is one of six private military schools in Virginia.

History

• 1892: Randolph-Macon Academy was founded by Dr. William W. Smith as part of the Randolph-Macon College
  Randolph-Macon College
  Randolph–Macon College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college located in Ashland, Virginia, United States, near the capital city of Richmond. Founded in 1830, the school has an enrollment of over 1,200 students...
  
   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 title 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 cadets 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
  Great Depression
  The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
  
  , Randolph-Macon Academy fell on hard times.
• 1933-1934: In an effort to reduce losses, Randolph Macon's military academy in Bedford, Virginia
  Bedford, Virginia
  Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...
  
   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 (254,952.2 m²) of land, built a headmaster's home, staff living quarters, and Melton Gymnasium. Also, Rives Hall converted to classroom use
• 1960s: Although public attitudes about military school structure were beginning to change, Randolph-Macon Academy held onto the same disciplinary principles as in previous decades. Critics complained that the military school concept was antiquated, and should all together be eliminated. Like the other six military schools in Virginia, Randolph-Macon Academy was able to maintain a large and steady enrollment primarily because of forced public school integration. This temporary enrollment boost collapsed at the end of the decade. During this era, a (500) seat chapel was constructed with the financial aid of "The United Methodist Church".
• 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
  United States Air Force
  The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
  
   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 amended their policy and admitted its first African American
  African American
  African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
  
   applicant, being the last of Virginia's seven military boarding schools to do so.
• 1981: Col. Trevor D. Turner (USA, Ret.) was hired as President (1981-1997). Col. Turner is credited with saving the Academy and it's extraordinary turn-around during the '80s and '90s.
• 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 Sonner-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; however, the most commonly accepted rumor is that of a cadet disposing of a cigarette in a hole in the wall in a third floor room. This set fire to the insulation which spread quickly. 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 (the local Super 8 Motel that had just finished construction, the cadets were the first guests) 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. The current Commandant, Colonel Gary N. Sadler, USAF, took over in the summer of 2005.
• 2007: Rifle Range was demolished.
• 2009: Stan Fulton Hall, a new academic building housing all of the humanities, was completed.
• 2011: Melton Memorial Gymnasium was refurbished.

External links

• Randolph-Macon Academy Web site