Woodmont Academy

Woodmont Academy was a private school in Howard County, Maryland, affiliated with the Legionaries of Christ, a Catholic religious institute.

Woodmont Academy
Address
14196 Frederick Rd

Cooksville
,
Maryland
21723

United States
Coordinates39°20′47″N 77°00′25″W
Information
TypePrivate School
Motto"Semper Altius" - Always Higher
Religious affiliation(s)Legionaries of Christ
DenominationCatholicism
Established1995
PrincipalJohn Farrell
Enrollment185 (2011)
Websitewoodmontacademy.org

History

Woodmont Academy was founded in 1995 by the Legionaries of Christ in Granite, Baltimore County, Maryland.[1][2] There were 49 students in the first class.

Plans to relocate to Glenwood were cancelled in 2000 when local residents objected.[3] The school chose an alternate 66-acre (27 ha) site in Cooksville, to which it relocated in 2003 over similar local opposition.[4][5]

In 2010, the Vatican condemned Marcial Maciel, the former leader of the Legion, for molesting underage males and fathering at least one child of a student.[6]

Due to declining enrollment (falling from 301 to 160 in two years), economic conditions, and fallout from the Legion of Christ controversy, Woodmont Academy closed on June 10, 2011, after the 2010–11 school year. At the time of the closure, the school was apparently planning to change from Legion of Christ controlled to a lay-led institution.[7][8]

Curriculum

The school used the "Integral Foundation" curriculum emphasizing character development.[9]

Redevelopment

In 2013, former James N. Robey aide Sang Oh representing Dar-us-Salaam, an Islamic organization that operates Al Huda School in College Park, petitioned Howard County to rezone the former Woodmont property in Cooksville. The zoning application was dropped, but plans to move the Dar-us-Salaam facility from College Park to Cooksville proceeded as a conditional use.[10]

References and notes
  1. "Our Mission." Woodmont Academy. February 6, 2001. Retrieved on February 2, 2018.
  2. "Home. Woodmont Academy. February 2, 2001. Retrieved on February 2, 2018. "10817 Davis Avenue, Woodstock, MD 21163"
  3. "Woodmont Academy delays date with panel". Baltimore Sun. 2000-10-17. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  4. "School bids on property in Cooksville". Baltimore Sun. 2001-10-21. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  5. Hirsch, Arthur (2012-11-08). "Mosque plan called too large for rural Howard County". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-03. Some remember the "Stop Woodmont Academy" signs sprouting on lawns 12 years ago, when the school staked out a spot in a residential area a few miles from where the project was eventually built on Frederick Road.
  6. Sara Toth (20 April 2011). "Woodmont Academy to close after 16 years 'There's nothing else here in western Howard County'". The Howard County Times.
  7. Home. Woodmont Academy. September 6, 2011. Retrieved on February 2, 2018.
  8. "Woodmont Academy to close due to enrollment issues". Catholic Review. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  9. "Woodmont Academy parent offers school $900,000 if it can raise $1 million". Baltimore Sun. 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  10. "Rezoning request for Woodmont Academy withdrawn". The Baltimore Sun. 19 June 2013.
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