Montclair Kimberley Academy  

History of the School

Today's Montclair Kimberley Academy, established in 1974, is the product of the merger of three separate schools, each with a reputation for providing an outstanding education: Montclair Academy, a boys' school founded in 1887, The Kimberley School, a girls' school founded in 1906, and Brookside, a coed school founded in 1925. Today's MKA has built on that tradition of excellence, and offers its diverse student body a rigorous, yet innovative, college preparatory education. Following the efforts of some leading Montclair citizens to prepare their sons for college, Montclair Academy was founded in 1887 with 32 boys under the tutelage of John MacVicar. By 1891, the school had expanded to include a boarding facility and was renamed the Montclair Military Academy, and in 1905, it moved to a new three-story building on Walden Place. At the end of the First World War, the school name reverted to Montclair Academy and by 1925, had an enrollment of close to 300 boys with Dr. Walter Head as owner and headmaster. The counterpart for some of Montclair's young ladies was Miss Waring's School and Studio that opened in 1906 on Plymouth Street with 46 students and 10 teachers led by headmistress Mary Kimberley Waring. The school was renamed in 1909 when Mary Jordan joined her as co-principal, and the two women ran The Kimberley School for more than thirty years until it incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1941. In 1925, a group of local parents founded a progressive, co-educational school for grades Kindergarten through sixth grade. Brookside School opened on Orange Road with 30 students, 6 teachers, many pets and an active, co-operative parent body. During the Depression all three schools suffered enrollment declines, and by the 1940's their buildings were showing their age. In 1948, concerned for Montclair Academy's survival, a group of trustees formed The Montclair Academy Foundation, and in 1950 purchased Brookside School, creating a co-ed feeder school for the boys' Academy that now served grades 7 - 12. After acquiring additional property on Lloyd Road, ground was broken in 1963 for a new Montclair Academy campus which today houses the MKA Upper School, grades 9-12. Concurrently, The Kimberley School was also expanding, and in 1949 purchased and renovated the old Montclair Athletic Club on Valley Road, which today houses the MKA Middle School, grades 4-8. In 1968, Montclair Academy and The Kimberley School - each with strong school spirit, loyal alumni and rigorous college preparatory curriculums - began to offer cross-registration for certain classes in addition to shared social events and theatrical productions, and after intensive study, the trustees of both decided to combine to create a new school. In September 1974 The Montclair Kimberley Academy was established with Richard Ward Day as its Principal. Dr. Frances R. O'Connor was the school's second Principal, serving from 1979-91, followed by Dr. Peter R. Greer who served as Headmaster from l992-2005. Under Dr. Greer's leadership, MKA emerged as one of the largest independent day schools in New Jersey. Both the Upper and Middle School campuses were designated as National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, and Signature Programs in Ethics, Writing and Core Works became identifiable hallmarks of an MKA education. Greer's tenure was also marked by the implementation of a Long Range Plan that led to upgrading all three campuses to include state of the art technology, improved science facilities, a new gymnasium, an all-weather surface for the Van Brunt Field, and a black box theatre and the Dr. Peter R. Greer Arts Wing at the Upper School. Beyond the continuation of a tradition of educational excellence, numerous other reminders of MKA's founding schools continued to enhance daily life and contribute to making MKA a welcome home for its thousands of alumnae. From the ringing of the Montclair Academy Bell to herald the opening and closing of the school year, to the revival of The Kimberley Maypole Dance by second graders, today's MKA is a school rich in tradition. Assuming the title of MKA's fourth Headmaster in July 2005, Thomas W. Nammack brings with him a bachelor's degree from Brown University, a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, seventeen years of experience from the Shipley School in Pennsylvania, and the reputation for being one of their finest administrators. Committed to the continued development of the Signature Programs, Nammack's plans include strengthening the coherence of curriculum and program structure, and establishing a unified vision of the school among alumni, students, faculty, parents and friends of MKA that will consolidate the school's position as an institution of excellence for the 21st century.