<p>Does anyone know anything about this school in Front Royal, VA for middle school and high school? Thanks.</p>
<p>Yes – my son went there. What is it you want to know?</p>
<p>If you send me a personal message or email me, I can also give you the email for another mother of a current student.</p>
<p>My son has some behavioral problems which I think will be helped by a structured environment. He also has organizational problems and his grades are suffering as a result. He thinks homework is a waste of time. We went to the open house last Sunday and the campus was dead. I giuess most of the kids go home on the weekend. I am considering the summer program to get a feel for how my child would fit in during the school year.</p>
<p>So my questions would revolve around how they handle discipline, how are the academics, any success/failure stories from kids you know who have gone there.</p>
<p>I will see if I can figure out the pm but I think mine is not activated.</p>
<p>This is my son’s answer:</p>
<p>I, too, had some pretty big organization and homework problems and went to R-MA.</p>
<p>Discipine is enforced by student officers about 80% of the time and faculty 20% of the time. Generally, infractions that warrant attention (for example, grossly failing room inspection) are “written up” by a leader, and, if there is no appeal, or if the appeal is found lacking, the student is assigned one or more “tours” which involve organized marching activities during the cadet’s free time. More major offenses like starting a fight are delt with by a meeting with the head of discipine who then decides how many days of “restriction” the student is given. In serious cases, like getting drunk, the student is dismissed.</p>
<p>Another kind of dislipine is given through the Honor Code. At the beginning of each year, all cadets must sign a statement which claims that they will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor condone those who do. If someone is accused of breaking the Honor Code, they are brought before the Honor Council, which is made of of students from each grade level (I was a memeber of this council). The student is allowed to present his/her side of the story after the accusing offical’s story is heard, then is asked questions by the members on the Council. The Council decides whether the cadet is innocent or guilty, then, if guilty, reccomends a punishment, which is usually many days of restriction or dismissal. If the student is found guilty, the head of discipline assigns the punishment, considering the reccomendations of the Honor Council. The reccomendations are often followed.</p>
<p>As for acedemics, let me put this bluntly. R-MA has better acedemics than virtually any other military school (through, to be fair, that isn’t saying that much). They actually do follow through on their promise of acedemics being first, and some of the students at R-MA are only there because the acedemics are better than their local high school. They also offer AP classes, something not seen in many miitary schools. The teacher quality seemed to be hit or miss for me however, with some teachers being great while other being quite abysmal.</p>
<p>If you have any more specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.</p>
<p>-Abram, R-MA alumni</p>
<p>I don’t like the thought of spending that much money for “abysmal” teachers. </p>
<p>Abram, did you go for middle school as well as high school? Does the above information apply to the middle school? Were you ever there during the summer?</p>
<p>I really appreciate your answers. Are you in college now?</p>
<p>Neighbor’s son attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham VA. He graduated last year and got into the Citadel in SC. </p>
<p>Another friend of S’s was practically flunking out of h.s. here so his parent sent him to Camden Military Academy in Camden,SC. He really turned himself around there and will be attending Emory and Henry College in VA on a football scholarship this fall.</p>
<p>*I know these have nothing to do with Randolph Macon but just thought I’d throw them out if you’re looking for military boarding schools in the south.</p>
<p>This is Abram.</p>
<p>I was only there for high school. Middle school is structured, but not a full military school. I don’t know much else able the middle school except that they seemed to be free to take high school classes on our side of campus, and I’m pretty such they are under a similar Honor Code.</p>
<p>I have never been there during the summer.</p>
<p>And yes, I am currently a college senior at Wash U, so I can answer questions about that school, if needs be.</p>
<p>This is Abram’s mom again. A couple things I would add –</p>
<p>We live in what is reputed to be one of the best school systems in the country and my children attended some of the best it had to offer. We found some of that instruction to be pretty dismal, too. (Within a couple months, my son went to RMA and my daughter began homeschooling.) So we may be a tough audience.</p>
<p>One thing I did appreciate about RMA was the academic flexibility. My son was taking AP Calculus BC in 9th grade in public school (he transferred to RMA for 2nd semester) – the school would not agree to anything math-wise for the remainder of high school. With RMA, we were able to arrange for EPGY math for the remaining 3 years. He needed a non-US history course to graduate and didn’t want to take one with 9th graders; the school let him take a correspondence course from U of Kansas.</p>
<p>You probably already know about the mandatory study period each night. This probably helped more than anything. There no longer were any excuses – I don’t have any, I finished, I left the book at school, etc.</p>
<p>RMA doesn’t seem to have (or retain) the real discipline problems – it isn’t a military school of last resort. In other words, kids will get kicked out and end up somewhere else. </p>
<p>I don’t know if most kids go home every weekend. A number do not – you have kids from other states and even other countries. Abram was on the debate team and flag corps, so a number of weekends he wasn’t free. Then came the time when most of his friends were at the school …</p>
<p>For us, the money was worth it. But, of course, everyone must make an assessment of individual circumstances.</p>
<p>Thank you Abram and DianeR. This is very helpful. My friend’s son goes to school there and he has flourished. He will be a senior in the fall. The mandatory study time is a big plus for me as well as the very structured environment. I am thinking about the summer first to get a feel for the place and for my son to experience it because he does not want to go and I am hoping that he will like it once he is there.</p>