Philadelphia Military Academy is a military school in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school opened for the 2004-2005 school year as the Philadelphia Military Academy at Leeds in the Cedarbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia. The school opened with an enrollment of 157 ninth grade cadets. The academy was housed at the Leeds middle school. A second edition of the program was housed at Elverson High School in the 2005–2006 school year. This site is the current location of the school after a merger in the latter yearsProgramThe academy is a special admission school. Like other military schools, students must adhere to the JROTC program. The academy is part of a growing trend, in Philadelphia and other cities, of military schools that are part of the public school system.Students in the military academy wear uniforms every day and are always expected to observe military courtesy, including addressing their teachers with "sir" or "ma'am." However students are not obligated to enlist after graduation.BuildingThe school is housed in the former James Elverson Jr. School building located in the Templetown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by Irwin T. Catharine and built in 1929–1930, it is a three-story, 11 bay, brick building on a raised basement in the Late Gothic Revival-style. An addition was built in 1954. It features a projecting central entrance pavilion, brick piers, and a castellated parapet. It was named for James Elverson, publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
