CARSON LONG MILITARY INSTITUTE

'Carson Long Military Institute' is a preparatory boarding school for boys grades 6-12 located in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. It is a direct descendant of Bloomfield Academy, a Latin grammar school founded in 1836 during the "rough, tough, strenuous days of President Andrew Jackson." In 1840 the school moved two blocks up the street to its present location atop a hill overlooking the town. For a short time in the early 1850s, the school was purchased and operated by the Perry County Commissioners. In 1914 the school was purchased by Theodore K. Long, a graduate of Bloomfield Academy and Yale University, who became a prominent Chicago lawyer and city councilman. In 1916, he renamed the school Carson Long Institute as a living memorial to his son, William Carson Long, who was killed in a logging accident in the Pacific Northwest at a very early age. Carson Long Institute is the oldest preparatory school in the United States that still requires military training and has been designated an Honor School with Distinction by the Department of the Army. A non-profit corporation since 1920, the school has a maximum capacity of 215 cadets, all of whom must live on campus. Although co-educational for a brief period in its early history, Carson Long accepts only male students.
The oldest building is known as The Maples (1840), which houses documents and school artifacts as well as a reception hall, and serves as the residence of the President. The campus spans over 400 acres, separated into two parcels. The main campus covers 57 acres in northern New Bloomfield, nestled among the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains just 28 miles northwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Camp Carson consists of 350 acres situated on Sherman’s Creek. There are a total of 9 buildings on the main grounds, five of which provide student housing. They are: The Maples, Centennial Hall (1936), Belfry Hall, Belfry Hall annex, Building `49, Willard Hall (grades 6-8), the Edward L. Holman Memorial Chapel, the Infirmary, a modern gymnasium and a five-story bell tower containing a 10,000+ volume library.
Cadets rise each day at 6:40am for exercises, breakfast, and inspection. The remainder of the day consists of classes followed by military instruction and intramural and varsity sports. Carson Long maintains competitive football, baseball, basketball, tennis, track, and rifle teams. Evening study hall is required for all cadets. Lights out is at 9:45pm.
More than 85% of Carson Long graduates go on to college and complete a bachelor’s degree, with a small percentage enlisting in the Armed Forces immediately after graduation. Carson Long has consistently funneled its brightest students toward appointments to U.S. Service Academies as well as renowned military universities such as Virginia Military Institute and The Citadel.
Colonel Carson E. R. Holman is the current president and is scheduled to retire July 1, 2007. He is a graduate of Carson Long Institute and received his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He received his M.A. in Education Supervision from Bucknell University and has been president of the school since 1971. His successor, Col. Matthew J. Brown, is a 1979 graduate of West Point and holds two Master's degrees, one from the Indiana University and the other from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He served 28 years on active duty and was a Patriot Missile System Battle Commander whose units deployed to the Middle East, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He also served three tours at the Pentagon, most notably as the Senior Military Adviser to the Undersecretary of the Army. Brown will also be the first president since 1918 who is not a descendant of the school's founder. Carson Long is governed by a 15 member board of trustees and has an active alumni association. An average school year will find 17 to 20 states and 10 foreign countries represented among the student body. This makes for a well rounded academic environment where the exchange of ideas in a more classical sense is encouraged. Along with traditional subjects, advanced placement math, science and foreign language courses are offered. Glee club, debate team, declamation team, piano lessons, “Red & Blue,” (the campus newspaper) and “Carsonian” (yearbook) are just a few of the many extra-curricular activities available to cadets.

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Matthew J. La Porte—One of 32 victims in the Va. Tech Killings

Matthew J. La Porte—One of 32 victims in the Va. Tech Killings

A Sophomore, La Porte was attending Virginia Tech on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and belonged to the school's Corps of Cadets. He was considering majoring in political science, was a graduate of the Carson Long Military Institute in New Bloomfield, Pa. He credited the academy with turning his life around. "I know that Carson Long was my second chance," he said during a 2005 graduation speech that was printed in the school yearbook.
On Tuesday, the school posted a memorial photograph of La Porte in his school uniform on its Web site. "Matthew was an exemplary student at Carson Long whose love of music and fellow cadets were an inspiration to all on campus," the school said in a statement.