Mrs. Theresa Long, Head of School at MMI Preparatory School, is proud to share an announcement shaped by hope, responsibility, and a renewed commitment to the School’s founding ideals. Beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, MMI will implement a meaningful tuition reset, placing tuition for grades 7–12 at $14,350 and grade 6 tuition at $10,000, down from $17,150 and $15,110, respectively. This is an investment not only in affordability, but in families, community, and the mission that has guided MMI for nearly a century and a half.
This tuition reset is more than a financial adjustment. It is a reaffirmation of who MMI is and who it has always aspired to be. For nearly 147 years, MMI Preparatory School has stood as a beacon of possibility, proving that when education is intentionally accessible, it can reshape futures and elevate entire communities.
In 1879, founders Eckley B. and Sophia G. Coxe envisioned a School that would open doors for the hardworking families of the coal region — a School built on the belief that education should empower, uplift, and create pathways to safer, more prosperous lives. Their vision was bold for its time, and it remains the School’s guiding light today. At MMI, education has never been simply a service. It has always been a catalyst.
As an independent School committed to serving local families, MMI undertook a comprehensive analysis of the economic realities facing the region. Market data and household income trends revealed something unmistakable: while the value of an MMI education continues to be transformative, the cost structure no longer aligned with the economic conditions of the very community it was created to serve. At the same time, a tuition discount rate nearing 40% signaled that more families were relying on significant financial aid to access the education the Coxes intended to be within reach. This growing imbalance was not sustainable — nor was it in alignment with the spirit of MMI’s mission.
Through thoughtful study and heartfelt reflection, the School recognized what needed to be done. With courage and clarity, MMI chose to realign tuition with the realities of the region and restore the accessibility that defines its founding purpose. With this tuition reset, MMI is removing barriers that stand between students and the futures they deserve. The change opens doors for more families to experience a comprehensive, values-driven college-preparatory education — one that nurtures both intellect and character and honors the belief that opportunity should never depend on circumstance.
Mrs. Long commented, “In recent years, we’ve seen more families needing significant tuition assistance, and we’ve provided it wholeheartedly, because no child’s opportunity should depend on circumstance. But it also showed us that our tuition no longer reflected the realities of the community we were created to serve. We felt a responsibility to honor our founders’ belief that education should open doors for every family willing to dream big for their child. This tuition reset is our renewed promise to them. My hope is that it gives families confidence to explore all that MMI offers, and reassurance that they belong here. This is who we are — and who we will continue to be.”
For generations, MMI has been transformative by nature. Its students graduate with confidence, purpose, and the readiness to lead meaningful lives. Now, the School is recommitting to being affordable by design, ensuring that the life-changing power of an MMI education remains firmly within reach for families across the region.
As MMI approaches its 147th year, it does so with renewed vigor and an unwavering promise: to serve, to uplift, and to continue building the future our founders imagined — one student, one family, one community at a time.