Riverside Military Academy

Riverside Preparatory Academy is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for boys in grades 6 through 12 in Gainesville, Georgia, United States.^[1]

Riverside Preparatory Academy
Address
2001 Riverside Drive Gainesville , Georgia 30501 United States
Information
Former name	Riverside Military Academy
Type	Private Military Boarding School
Motto	Mens Sana In Corpore Sano (A sound mind in a sound body)
Established	1907
President	Dr. Robert Brittain Daniel, J.D.
Grades	6–12
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	205 (2023-2024)
Capacity	600 (dorm capacity)
Mascot	Eagle
Nickname	Riverside Prep, Riverside Military, RMA
Accreditation	SAIS
Yearbook	Bayonet
Website	https://www.riversideprep.org/

History

The school was founded as Riverside Military Academy in 1907 by local professors and businessmen Haywood Jefferson Pearce^{[citation needed]} and Azor Warner Van Hoose Jr ^[2] with the mission of preparing ethical young men for success in college and life.

1911 Riverside Preparatory Academy Yearbook showing Pearce as secretary of the board of directors.

Riverside opened its doors in fall 1908. It gained some prominence after 1913, when a young professor from Stone Mountain, Georgia, Edgar Dunlap "Sandy" Beaver (later a general) became the director of the school's Academics and Military Department.^[3]

Riverside opened a winter campus in Hollywood, Florida, in 1931. It was briefly used as a Naval Air Gunners School during World War II.^[4] It was sold in 1984.

The Gainesville campus underwent renovations from 1997 until 2004, adding a barracks building, academics building, gymnasium, and a library and performing arts center.^[5]

In 2022, the school rebranded as Riverside Preparatory Academy to emphasize its rigorous academic program, while still holding on to a modified military mission.^[6]

Robert Brittain Daniel, a lawyer, is the current president.^[7]

Awards

Riverside Preparatory Academy won "Best Band" by virtual appearance in the Atlanta Veteran's Day Parade in 2020.

Riverside Preparatory Academy's Army JROTC Raiders Team has won national championships.^[8]

Riverside Preparatory Academy won its 10th consecutive Atlanta Veterans Day "Presidents' Trophy" in 2019.^[9]

The Riverside Preparatory Academy Track & Field team was crowned 2018 GHSA state champions.^[10]

Notable alumni

• Félix Arturo González Canto, governor of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo (1986)
• James Earl Carter Sr., father of U.S. President Jimmy Carter (Attended 1911)
• Tyler Carter, former clean vocalist of the metalcore bands Woe, Is Me and Issues
• Khalid Duke, college football defensive end for the Kansas State Wildcats^[11]
• CeeLo Green (Thomas DeCarlo Callaway), singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor
• Bobby Greenwood, professional golfer (Attended 1957)
• 2LT John Herb, a World War II P-51 pilot who was shot down and died while strafing a Nazi Military Base (1940)^[12]
• Admiral David L. McDonald, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations during the Vietnam War (1924)
• Victor Miguel Pacheco Mendez, President of AraJet
• Victor Oscar Pacheco Mendez, CEO of Grupo VOPM;^[13] founder of Panacrédito^[14]
• Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill, composer, arranger, and conductor (1938)
• Offset (Kiari Kendrell Cephus), American rapper part of rapper group, Migos (Attended 2008)^[15][16][17]
• Patrick O'Neal, actor
• George P. Oslin, inventor of the singing telegram (1913)
• Luis M. Proenza, university president (1962)
• Tommy Prothro, football coach (1938)
• Johnny Riddle, baseball player (1926)
• Red Sanders, football coach (1923)
• Everett Strupper, leading scorer in the Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0 football game of 1916; member of the College Football Hall of Fame (1914)
• Douglass Watson, soap opera actor (1938)