MONTVERDE, Fla. – When you hear the name Montverde, Montverde Academy may come to mind.
The private school was founded back in 1912, 13 years before the town of Montverde was even incorporated.
Montverde Academy’s Associate Head of School, Dr. David Rath, says the school was initially named Montverde Industrial School. It was designed to be a boarding school for troubled kids, both boys and girls.
“The school was founded really more as a farm school, so kids did chores. The school had livestock and kids really worked the farm and got an education doing that,” said Dr. Rath.
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Dr. Rath says in the 1920s, the school dropped the word “industrial” from its name and its academic reputation took off.
“Even by the 30s and 40s, if you were graduating with a Montverde Academy diploma or Montverde School diploma at that point, you got automatic entry to any school in the south: Vanderbilt, University of Florida, all the good ones. You didn’t have to take a test,” said Dr. Rath.
Today, the school is celebrating its 112th year. The campus is now spread across 125 acres.
There’s now a day school for elementary students along with middle and high schools. In addition, four dormitories house some of the older students who come from around the world. Much like it’s surrounding community, Montverde Academy was pretty small, until now.
“It was never very big, really, until even 1999 or 2000. I think even in 2000, we only had 100 students, but then from that point until today, the growth has been unbelievable... going into next fall, we’re going to have 1,400 (students),” said Dr. Rath.
Dr. Rath attributes the school’s growth to all the development that’s happening in the surrounding community as well as Montverde Academy’s strong athletic program. In fact, he says, Montverde Academy now has the top boys’ basketball team in the country. The girls’ basketball team has won three straight national championships. Fourteen current NBA players played for Montverde Academy, but according to Dr. Rath, there’s even more than that to celebrate.
“We’re the most highly decorated art school in the state of Florida. Arts is not in our name, but we have a music conservatory, a theater conservatory, a dance conservatory. We have a strong robotics program and incredible Model UN. So you know, with 800 students in the high school out of the 1,400, they all go on to do amazing things and it’s not simply in athletics,” said Dr. Rath.
So how much does all this cost? Tuition is $57,000 a year for the boarding school while the day school costs about $23,000 a year.
Dr. Rath says they currently have 300 students on a waiting list for the elementary school. Starting next year, they’ll be adding additional 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes with plans to add classes through kindergarten over the next several years.