Vanity: Anyone been to military high school or sent a child to one?

I attended Fishburne Military School from 1996 to 1999. I can’t say enough good things about the experience as well as the lifelong friends I made while there. Compared to public schools, the small military school atmosphere is invaluable. Class sizes average around 8 students per class, which is a drastic difference from 30-35 in public schools when I attended.

I myself did not fare well in public high school, and only spent one semester (my freshman year) there when my parents decided to put me into private school. I had a choice between 3 or 4 schools here in VA, and I chose Fishburne, mainly because of the small class sizes.

As an alumnus, I can certainly get you in touch with the right people at the school if you have not already made contact. The best advice I can give is to go visit the school in person, and take your son of course. This really goes for any school you choose, but I would strongly recommend at least visiting Fishburne. The education and the experience is priceless.

I attended Fishburne Military School for my last two years of high school. Like many who have responded previously, the experience changed my life and gave me a step up. Growing up I lived closer to Camden. I chose Fishburne and would today. This may sound silly, but the humidity in the SC low country was and is terrible. Like some who have written, I was nominated for a service academy, but chose not to go. Please consider what there is to do off campus. In all fairness, I am a very active alumnus - visiting the school three times a year - even though I graduated 42 years ago. My friends from Fishburne are my friends today. Having met many graduates from both before and after my time, I can tell you most graduates proudly state where they went to school. Most will tell you they would do it again. Most will tell you they would consider Fishburne for their own sons. (I have only daughters.) PM for more.

Thanks for telling me about Fishburne. What are the math and science teachers like? Are some boys picked on and continually singled out by other cadets? Are there honors or AP courses?

I can speak personally about Fishburne Military School. I was much like your son at my public school. My academics were slipping, I went from an A-B average to a C-D average at my public school. My stepdad being an alumni from Fishburne decided that it would be best if I attended Fishburne Military School. So this past summer school I found my self at Fishburne. At first I hated being away from my parents and not really knowing anyone. Later on during summer school I decided to go back the 2011-2012 school year. I am now proud to say my grades are back in the A-B average, but even closer to straight A’s. It was by far one of the best choices I made. I had excelled above and beyond my expectation, Leader ship wise as well as academically. I had been a very successful first year at the school. While attending Fishburne I made real friends that i will never forget. They were actually more than just friends, they were brothers. FMS is a great school. I also plan on going to an academy after graduating(preferably the Naval Academy, I want to be in Naval aviation). I too will be in the Junior class for next year. I sugest that you let your son go to summer school as a trial. If all goes well (which I know it will) then send him to good ‘ole FMS. I also plan on attending summer school this year.

-Sincerely, Chandler D. Bryant
Class of 14
ROLL ON CAISSONS

No one can make this decision, but you. I know that this is LONG, but I would like to ask that you read this before you make your final decision. Please feel free to contact me at 434-882-4439 and I will be HAPPY to HONESTLY answer ANY questions or concerns that you may have.
~CPT Miller-Blackburn
AS A PARENT
Last April (2011) my son, husband (his step-father) and I toured Fishburne. My son would be a rising seventh grader the following year and was having a VERY hard time in his public middle school. The classes that he was in contained 30+ students, and getting the teachers to respond and/or contact me was a nightmare. We began our tour as most people do, and I just stepped back in order to observe my son. I wanted to see how HE reacted to the campus, expectations and learning environment. As a single mom supporting three children, this was going to be a HUGE commitment financially for me. As the tour went on he walked around with Mr. Shifflett, nodding his head and had his hands in his pockets. Mr. Shifflett opened the door to a classroom and took Christopher in to see it. The look on my son’s face made the decision right then and there. My son, Christopher, came out of that classroom, looked at my husband (his step-father) and me, and stated to us “I can learn here.” The decision was made; he was going to be a cadet in the fall, no matter what it took for me to get the money. My son was currently struggling to maintain low B’s, C’s and occasionally some D’s on a ten point grading scale at his current school. Christopher began in August 2011 as a seventh grader at Fishburne. I will admit, that even as a day student, he was incredibly overwhelmed with the change in pace, structure and expectations outside of the classroom. His class sizes were between three and five cadets – and he was THRILLED. It took a lot of hard work to learn what he needed to in order to graduate to “old man” status, but when I took off that red name tag and pinned on his black name tag, representing old man status, I can HONESTLY say that I have NEVER seen my son so proud of himself. He had made a major accomplishment on his own that took a lot of hard work – from there it was only uphill. My son took, and still takes, his status as a Fishburne cadet VERY seriously. He is PROUD to be where he is and has stood up to anyone, including family members, who look down on him for being there. He has gone back to athletic games at his old school and sees that the boys there now look up to him. As a parent, I never had any problem with school correspondence. My son’s advisor emailed me weekly with updates and if I had a question or concern, I would email the individual teacher and get a response within 24 hours. Graduation was last weekend – now REMEMBERING that my son is in only seventh grade, and that the grading scale is based on six points and not ten – I will share with you that my son received TWO scholarships, a medal of conduct AND a medal of honor representing a GPA of 3.5+. In conclusion about my son, Fishburne has accomplished way ABOVE AND BEYOND my expectations. My son has done a 180, he cares about his grades and strives to do well, he carries himself with pride and confidence, he looks people-including adults-in the eyes when he speaks to them, and he ASKED to go to summer school in order to continue to increase his rank status.
AS A TEACHER
After my son had been accepted, and all of the paperwork had been completed, two months later a teaching position at Fishburne literally fell into my lap. I had not applied for this job, but the school had a math teacher resign with very short notice leaving them very little time to find a qualified experienced math teacher. I have been teaching since 1996, and I have been in some very difficult inner city schools throughout my career. I was teaching during the transition from LPT to SOL’s, and when I stopped teaching at the high school level and moved to teaching at the college level, I was literally teaching to a test. I was teaching students who couldn’t even read how to recognize what type of question was on their test in order for them to know which buttons on the calculator to use in order to get the answer. I take teaching very seriously. I have, and have always had, high expectations of my students. Teaching at Fishburne has let me be the teacher that I love being, to excel at what I’m good at, and to actually be able to teach mathematics. The technology that is available at Fishburne is unbelievable, and being able to incorporate its uses into my instruction and classroom has been very beneficial not only to me as a teacher, but for the boys for supplemental learning material and reinforcement of curriculum. There is no opportunity for these boys to fall through the cracks. Every night there is a MANDATORY study hall where the teachers walk the stoops to make sure that the boys are doing their homework. If the boys are missing two or more assignments in a course, then they are placed on restriction for the week preventing them from participating in any off campus activities (besides sports)and are in a CLOSELY supervised study hall with a teacher for that week, or until their assignments have been completed. Each teacher is assigned a group of students for which they are responsible for throughout the entire academic year. As an advisor, I contact the teachers of my cadets, and then provide a MINIMUM of a weekly email to the parents reporting their son’s progress. Parents may access grades from home online as the grades are posted on a weekly basis. I will admit, that I had NO idea what working at Fishburne involved. Fishburne becomes a part of your life. If you cannot commit 100%, then you should not be working there. As soon as you walk on that campus, you have acquired 150 new sons. These boys consider themselves like brothers to each other, and watching and observing that is an experience beyond words. These boys look up to us and look to us for guidance, instruction and the opportunity for us to provide them with an education that they can be proud of because they LEARNED and are EDUCATED and EXCITED about going to college. We are the Fishburne family and we ALL work as a team to make sure that these boys succeed. The difference here – we CARE and will do whatever it takes to help these boys accomplish their academic and personal goals. These boys, as they should be, are proud of themselves, are excited about learning and KNOW that they are receiving an outstanding education that will prepare them for college.

Thanks so much for this. I will call you to talk further after memorial day!