New York Military Academy, or NYMA, is an American private boarding school located in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. It was founded in 1889 by Charles Jefferson Wright, a Civil War veteran and former school teacher from New Hampshire who believed that a military structure provided the best environment for academic achievement, a philosophy to which the school adhered. NYMA has a long history as a college preparatory school with a military structure that enrolled students from the New York metropolitan area as well as around the country and the world.
Wright's successor, Sebastian Jones, presided over the Academy from 1894–1922, guiding it during its most critical period of growth from a young and small institution of 48 cadets, through a disastrous fire in 1910, and throughout an extensive reconstruction program. NYMA is now one of the oldest military schools in the United States. In 1975, the Academy became a coeducational institution, admitting girls for the first time in the school's history.
The school has recently emerged from a difficult period in which it faced the possibility it would have to close its doors due to dwindling enrollment and financial problems. New York Military Academy held what was said to be "the final graduation ceremonies" in June, 2010. However, a group of alumni and local businessmen created a plan to save the school raising almost $6 million dollars in a matter of weeks to create a foundation for a new and brighter future for the Academy under new board leadership. The vision for NYMA's future now holds that the school will be a “best practice” school providing 21st century educational programs for intentional learners in a student-centered constructivist environment that serves the developmental learning needs as well as the unique public/civic service-related aspirations of each individual cadet.
Read more about New York Military Academy: Location, Organization, Student Life, History, Notable Alumni, Major Buildings, Athletics
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