MONTFORT IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL PREP SCHOOL. . . WE AIM FOR THE HIGHER THINGS

 We at Montfort are often asked what an academy is and how it differs from a preparatory school. Like a prep school, Montfort also prepares its student for higher education. In fact, we are particularly proud of our record in college admissions with 10% of our students accepted at Ivy League institutions, 30% in the top 1% of colleges and universities and over 75% of our students accepted at ‘more selective’ or better institutions (U.S. News). 

The reality however is that an academy is much more than a school preparing students for college, an academy focuses on the spiritual, ethical, and even physical development of all its members. Students at an academy are not merely passive recipients of knowledge, they are active participants in their education. In the liberal arts, students do much of their learning through the Socratic method that invites participation and in STEM where students participate in a hands-on science program that is more lab intensive than other institutions and demands participation as well. 

A classical academy like Montfort is also different in that we focus on the ‘great books’ of literature and the ‘Great Conversation’ of history and view them as a foundation for educated people to build on. At an academy, students know great ideas down through the ages. At an academy, students also learn classical languages like Latin and Greek which also help provide a strong foundation for further education. As a school the teaches the trivium Montfort is also more focused on communication than many other schools. With rhetoric, grammar and oral exams Montfort teaches its students to think deeply, write compellingly and speak convincingly. 

Spiritually, Montfort actively molds its students into people of good character with courses focused on doing so ...Chivalry and Christian Womanhood in addition to theology and moral philosophy. Combined with peer group low class sizes (7x1 student to teacher ratio) as well as our passionate and involved teachers and staff, Montfort students are constantly encouraged to be virtuous and to make a positive Impact in their community and the broader world. 

Finally in an environment where many high schools seem to be increasingly focused on recruited athletes at the expense of others, Montfort offers fitness opportunities and athletic access to all its students while still enabling some of its students to compete at varsity levels in college. 

The philosophical differences between preparatory schools and academies are profound. In some ways the difference is the difference between ennobling and enabling. Prep schools enable, they prepare students to be a member of a broader college community, but academies seek to do something more, they not only prepare students for a broader community they also seek to mold character and create virtuous citizens who can change and improve a community.  Montfort is unabashedly an Academy. To learn more about what that means and what makes us makes us different please email, call, schedule a Shadow Day for your student or attend our Open House’s on October 6th and 16th. 

Montfort, Where the Mortar Matters.