Military School Info

This Fishburne Military School Review examines Fishburne's history and mission, facilities and school year, academics, curriculum, summer courses, and admissions. Keep reading to learn the possibilities after graduating from Fishburne Military School.

Fishburne Military School, established in the late 1870s, is a accredited secondary school for young men who are in grades 7 through 12. It is located in Waynesboro, Virginia and is on the National Register of Historic Places and accepts both boarding school and day students. This article provides a review of Fishburne military school.

History and Mission of Fishburne Military School

Fishburne Military School was founded by James A. Fishburne on the fifteenth of September, 1879 as Waynesboro High School. At first a co-educational school, the opening of the Waynesboro Female Seminary in 1881 prompted a switch to an all-male school. It became Fishburne School, Ltd. in 1883 and Fishburne Military School in 1886. Fishburne Military School is accredited by both the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, by which it was accredited in the 1897-1898 school year.

Our Fishburne military school review found that the mission of the school combines offering ROTC leadership training along with a strong academic foundation within the context of a physical and mental environment that is healthy.

Fishburne Military School Facilities and School Year

In our Fishburne military school review we found professional-quality parade and sports field and weight-training facility. The school year runs from late August to the third week of May. Vacations are given at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the last week of winter.

Academics at Fishburne Military School

In seventh and eighth grades, students take Language Arts, Math, Health and Physical Education, Science, and Social Studies. In high school, they can aim to complete either an Academic Diploma or an Advanced Studies Diploma or an International Diploma, which are compared in the chart below:

Subject	Units/Academic Diploma	Units/Advanced Studies Diploma	Units/Intl. Diploma
English	4	4	4
Math	3	4	3
American History/Gov.	2	2	2
World History or Geography	1	1	1
Laboratory Science	3	4	3
Fine or Practical Arts	1	1	1
Health/Physical Education	2	2	-
Foreign Language	2	3-4	-
Electives	4	2 or 3	8
JROTC	(1 credit/year)	(1 credit/year)	(1 credit/year)
Total	22	24	22

(Apparently the JROTC credits are not included in the totals.) Grading is A through F and a 3.2 average with no grade less than a B is required for the Distinguished Honor Roll.

Languages offered are French and Spanish. Fine Arts includes opportunities for Band and Vocal Music. There are no Advanced Placement Courses (AP) in the course catalog. The school is not approved to offer special education programs.

Fishburne Military School Review of Other Offerings

There is a five-week summer course to help FMS cadets prepare for the fall session. Students from other schools may attend as well.  Students can do review work or get a jump on the next year’s work, as appropriate.  The school offers 13 varsity sports, including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, rifle, soccer, swimming, tennis, and wrestling. The Caissons, as the teams are known, have, for example, taken the Garnet and Gold to state championships in rifle teams in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. There is an athletic trainer on-site

Beginning with the 1928-1929 school year, Fishburne military school has been a JROTC Honor Unit. This means that it can nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academies.

Outcomes

End of 2006-2007 school year saw 80 percent of cadets on the honor roll. All graduates have been accepted to college for the past four years. Graduates have attended colleges and universities in Virginia, such as Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Virginia, academies such as the United States Military Academy at West Point, and other schools with military ties, such as Norwich University in Vermont and Virginia Military Institute.

Admissions

Fishburne Military School accepts students in spring and fall. Explicitly required for admission is the student’s desire to attend the school and his parents’ support of the rules and approach. Visits - or, when not possible, phone or web-based interviews - are recommended, and entrance exams may be required. Students must submit an application, official transcript, and any disciplinary reports from their former school. Two references are required, of which one must be a teacher or school official. Admissions decisions are based both on the committees sense of what the school can offer the student and what the student can offer the school.

Source

fishburne.org