New York Military Academy
New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the suburban town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitting girls in 1975. On March 3, 2015, NYMA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and was sold at auction to Chinese-owned foundation Research Center on Natural Conservation Inc. which reopened the school in November 2015. The Research Center then poured millions of dollars into the campus to support instruction and capital improvements. The campus also has been host to popular camps like Camp All America into the 1980s and currently the NYMA Leadership Program. History NYMA has a long history as a university-preparatory school with a military structure that enrolls students from the New York metropolitan area as well as around the country and the world. It was founded in 1889 by American Civil War veteran and former schoolteacher from New Hampshire Charles Jefferson Wright, a former Commandant of Cadets of the nearby Peekskill Military Academy. Wright's successor, Sebastian Jones, presided over the academy from 1894 to 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. 103 students were enrolled in 2019. During the years 1959-1963, the superintendent was Nathan Dingley III, a veteran of World War I and World War II. On Oct. 12, 1963, the school's drill team participated in the Columbus Day Parade, led by commanding officer Donald Trump. The academy previously admitted students as early as the fifth grade. Gradually throughout the mid-to-late 1990s, grades five and six were no longer accepted. By the 1999-2000 school-year, the academy only accepted students from the seventh grade on. The seventh grade was removed in the mid-2000s; the school today only accepts grades eight through twelve. In some of its early years, the campus also hosted a non-military "NYMA Lower School" for grades one through six.) Over time, the campus expanded from to a peak of , and enrollment peaked at 525 students during the 1960s. Girls have been admitted since 1975. NYMA is a member of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States as well as several other school associations. Financial difficulties Due to financial problems and enrollment that had dwindled to 145 students, the school was scheduled to close in June 2010. However, a group of alumni and local business people created a plan to save the school, raising almost $6 million of financing in a matter of weeks, and expecting to sell off some less-utilized portions of the campus. The academy failed to open in September 2015 for the fall semester, and instead headed to bankruptcy auction. On September 30, NYMA was auctioned for $15.825 million to the Chinese-owned Research Center on Natural Conservation Inc., a non-profit corporation led by billionaire Vincent Tianquan Mo, Chairman and CEO of SouFun