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News Archive: June 2005
FUMA to Sponsor Open House / Reception in the Charlotte Area
For the past several weeks, alumni of Fork Union Military Academy living in the Charlotte, North Carolina area have been clipping out news articles and sending them to the President and admissions staff of that venerable boarding school. Each story tells of rising concerns among parents about local school issues - fears about guns and violence, worries about class size and overcrowded facilities, debates over school boundaries, and concerns about turnovers in administration. Each news item carries the same message: many parents in the Charlotte area are looking for a school like Fork Union Military Academy, a place where their sons can learn and develop in a safe, structured, disciplined environment.
Fork Union Military Academy will host an open house/reception at the Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 24, 2005 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. Representatives from the school, including admissions staff and faculty, will answer questions about the Academy for families of prospective students. In addition, alumni and former parents in the Charlotte area are invited to attend the reception to reunite with old friends and faculty of the Academy.
Prominent Charlotte Alumni
Fork Union Military Academy has long maintained a relationship with the Charlotte community. The Academy's Board of Trustees includes two prominent Charlotte area alumni: business developer George Currin of Currin-Patterson Properties, and Jon Richardson, President of Panthers Stadium, LLC and the son of Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.
Jon Richardson was just one of many young men attracted to Fork Union Military Academy by its outstanding athletics program. A talented wide receiver, Jon went on to a successful college football career at the University of North Carolina. Following a brief stint with the Baltimore Colts and other business pursuits, Jon joined his father and brother in the family business - the Carolina Panthers.
Athletic Program Produces Pro Players
Working with the Panthers keeps Jon close to a number of Fork Union alumni, because in any given NFL season, at least 10 to 20 active players are former FUMA cadets. Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Dave Kadela played for the FUMA Blue Devils, as did more than a dozen other active NFL players like Plaxico Burress, Dexter Coakley, Roman Oben, and Ernest Wilford. Fork Union Military Academy is the only high school in the past sixty years to have produced two Heisman Trophy winners, Vinny Testaverde and Eddie George.
The Academy has a full program of outstanding interscholastic athletics including football, basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, wrestling, cross country, swimming, rifle team, and more. The Academy's track team has won the state championship 18 years in a row. Each year, more than two dozen FUMA cadets are awarded athletic scholarships to top colleges and universities.
Academic Focus
But more than top quality athletics, it is the academic structure and discipline offered by Fork Union Military Academy that makes the difference. As Vinny Testaverde said of FUMA's required study periods, "I learned what you can accomplish when you focus."
Under the school's unique "One Subject Plan" upper school students (grades 9-12) take one class each 7-week grading period, rather than taking several classes each day. Instead of spending one hour on Math and the next hour on English, then an hour of Science, and so on throughout the school day, FUMA cadets focus on one class at a time, all day, for the entire grading period. This allows students to study in depth, gain greater comprehension, and get the intensive help they might need to achieve academic success in each subject.
This focused curriculum is combined with a mandatory study period each night, known as "CQ" (short for "Call To Quarters") that requires students to be in their rooms from 7 - 9 pm each night, at their desk and actively studying. No talking, television, or other distractions are allowed during this strictly supervised study time.
Under this proven academic program, students who may not have achieved their full potential previously can be expected to raise their grade point average and SAT scores significantly.
Body, Mind, and Spirit
Fork Union Military Academy's motto is "Body, Mind, and Spirit" and the Academy believes that a student's development is not complete with just athletics and academics, but must also include opportunities for spiritual growth. FUMA is a Christian school and classes start each morning with a devotional time. Students also attend chapel services each week and the Academy employs a full-time chaplain. Founded in 1898 by a prominent Baptist minister, the school embraces its Christian mission while remaining open to young men from all different backgrounds.
About one-fifth of the student body comes from Baptist backgrounds, another one-fifth from Catholic homes, two-fifths from a variety of other Christian denominations, and the remaining one-fifth have no formal religious affiliation, or are of a non-Christian faith such as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and others.
Safe, Structured Learning Environment
Located on 1,000 wooded acres in central Virginia, Fork Union Military Academy provides a safe learning environment for young men. Today's world provides no end of distractions that can throw a young man off course - girls, cars, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, school violence, peer pressure, and more. In a small school environment of about 600 students, the Academy offers a sanctuary away from these pressures and allows each student to live up to his potential.
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Contact:
Dan Thompson, Director of Communications, 434-842-4372
Elizabeth Liles, Associate Director of Communications, 434-842-4373
COL Jim Akers, Director of Admissions, 434-842-4205
Posted by CPT Dan Thompson, Thursday, June 30, 2005 03:45 PM
General News
Ernest Wilford of Jacksonville Jaguars Motivates Camp Attendees
FUMA alumnus Ernest Wilford, in his second year with the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football team, took time out to speak to some young people at Community Connections Summer Camp in Jacksonville, FL this past week, inspiring them with his own success story.
Read the full article here.
Posted by CPT Dan Thompson, Wednesday, June 22, 2005 02:19 PM
Alumni
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