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…