This Historic US Military Academy Is Closing After Almost 100 Years – Here's Why
After nearly a century in operation, Valley Forge Military Academy will close its doors in May 2026. The decision comes after years of financial strain and dwindling enrollment for the prep boarding school for boys in grades 7th through 12th. Its final class, the 98th Corps of Cadets, will graduate on May 30th of next year before officially closing once and for all.
Founded in 1928, Valley Forge Military Academy became a cultural and historical touchstone in the decades that followed — even serving as the filming location for the 1981 movie "Taps" starring Tom Cruise. (And no, it's not a real-life Top Gun school.) Its alumni roster includes novelist J.D. Salinger, NFL Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and war veterans General Norman Schwarzkopf and Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster (of Desert Storm's violent Battle of 73 Easting).
No one factor in particular is to blame for the closure, but rather a combination of them: rising tuition costs, fewer student numbers, changes in Pennsylvania law that increased insurance premiums... "Together, these factors made the Academy's future unsustainable," the board said in an official statement. Enrollment proves this: The school had just 90 cadets this year compared to 150 in 2023 and 300 a decade and a half ago.
What's next for students, families, and faculty
Alumni from former Maryland Governor Wes Moore to Philadelphia nonprofit leader Kareem Rosser have credited Valley Forge Military Academy for changing the course of their lives and turning them into future leaders. It's part of what makes the closure such a disappointment for some current students and their families: The 7th through 11th graders won't have a chance to graduate from the school like those who have come before.
It's not just students and families being impacted, either. The school's closure will also affect about 20 faculty and staff members. The school board has promised to help its staff transition to other opportunities (and provide the necessary assistance along the way), but the fact remains: Their current gigs — and the students they taught — will be gone come spring 2026.
Interestingly enough, despite the academy's imminent closure, Valley Forge Military College will remain open. It's a two-year institution that shares the same 70-acre Main Line campus but has been operated separately since their split in 2022. Current academy cadets who meet the college's admissions standards will be automatically accepted, letting them bypass its traditional plebe system.
The school has faced a series of legal issues over the years
What isn't mentioned in the Valley Forge Military Academy's closure announcement? The years of mounting legal pressure tied to systemic abuse allegations. Survivors and former staff have accused the school of fostering a culture of hazing, sexual assault, and neglect. They say administrators prioritized upholding the reputation of the school over the safety of its students. A steady stream of lawsuits has brought these issues into sharper focus, particularly after Pennsylvania expanded the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault claims — something they only alluded to in their official statement.
Back in 2015, the school's Title IX office filed a federal complaint acknowledging the systemic problems in how the school handled sexual misconduct. Subsequent lawsuits suggest that, in decades past, administrators habitually interfered with investigations, ignored board recommendations to expel known offenders, and even went as far as to retaliate against whistleblowers. Enrollment has been falling off ever since, and with more than 300 police calls logged over a period of just four academic years (not counting millions spent on legal fees), the academy's closure seemed only a matter of time.