Montclair Kimberley Academy

Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, Montclair Kimberley Academy celebrated the 125th anniversary of the establishment of its earliest component school in 2012. The current school, established in 1974, is the result of the merger of three separate schools: 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. As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,012 students (plus 36 in PreK) and 168.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6:1. The school's student body was 57.5% (582) White, 13.8% (140) Asian, 12.7% (129) Black, 11.6% (117) two or more races and 4.3% (44) Hispanic. The school offers a faculty professional development program, with 79% of the 175 faculty members holding advanced degrees and 11 holding doctorates. The school has accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1987 and is accredited until January 2025. Curriculum MKA offers a college prep curriculum featuring Signature Programs in Ethics, Writing, and the MKA Core – works of western and non-western literary, artistic, musical, historical or mathematical significance. Each graduating senior is required to complete May Term. Choices for May Term include internships and travel opportunities in Europe and Asia. French and Spanish are offered from Pre-K onwards; Latin and Chinese in 6th grade. The school has advanced technology, science labs supporting research-based learning, four gymnasiums, a swimming pool, auditoriums, a black box theatre, and the Upper School both a $3 million arts wing and a multimillion-dollar academic and technology wing. There is an interscholastic athletic program, and fields competitive teams in over 25 sports that have won over 100 championships in the past 10 years. Students have access to fine and performing arts opportunities ranging from a tri-campus Strings Program, to mounting a full Shakespeare production in 7th grade, to making movies in the Upper School. Numerous community service opportunities exist at each campus, as well as extensive extracurricular offerings.