Here at The Village Green, we provide wall-t0-wall coverage of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which educates more than 6,600 children in the towns from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Yet, despite the fact that roughly 60 percent of your local property tax bill goes toward funding the district, some parents choose other options for their children’s education.
Village Green is profiling those options, starting with Montclair-Kimberley Academy. Stay tuned for another private school profile next Monday.
Village Green will also be profiling individual schools in the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
Montclair-Kimberley Academy
201 Valley Rd, Montclair, NJ 07042
(973) 746-9800
www.mka.org
Head of School: Thomas W. Nammack
School Motto: “Knowledge, Vision, Integrity.”
Founded in 1887, Montclair-Kimberley Academy, known as “MKA,” is an independent day school with over 1,000 students on three campuses (Pre-K-3rd, 4th-8th, 9th-12th), all located in Montclair. About one-third of the students live in Montclair; the rest represent eight counties and 70 towns, including Maplewood and South Orange.
Hallmarks of the MKA education include longstanding Pre-K-12 Signature Programs: the Culture of Ethics, The Writing Challenge and The MKA Core, as well as a nationally recognized program for integrating technology in the curriculum. MKA was recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for 2013-2015 and provides a 1:1 laptop learning environment for students, which means each student in grades four – 12 receives a MacBook Air 13″ laptop.
MKA values extra-curricular student activities, as well. MKA eighth graders travel to Washington DC. The Junior Class US History trip also travels to Washington D.C.
In addition, MKA’s Global Programs offer a wide-range of domestic and international travel opportunities for Middle and Upper School students. Such trips have included an Upper School trip to China, a Middle School trip to Spain, and a spring break building trip to Latin America.
An extended day program is available for students in Pre-K through eighth grade. Students may also take a variety of classes available after-school daily.
MKA’s annual tuition varies by grade. Financial aid is available for students in grades six-12. For 2014-15, fees are:
Pre-K $18,500
Kindergarten $23,500
Grades 1 – 3 $26,000
Grades 4 – 5 $28,900
Grades 6 – 8 $32,100
Grades 9 – 12 $34,400
