MMI Preparatory School (simply referred to as MMI) is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational 6-12 college preparatory day school in Freeland, Pennsylvania, United States. MMI is short for Mining and Mechanical Institute and was founded in 1879 as the Industrial School for Miners and Mechanics by Eckley Brinton Coxe to provide technical training for area miners. The program was modeled after the "Steigerschulen" of Germany. Mr. Coxe examined The "Steigerschulen", which were secondary technical institutes, while studying mining engineering in that country. The first class consisted of 11 students. The present day name of MMI Preparatory School came to be in the 1970s as young women were accepted into the school and to more accurately reflect the school's function of preparing students for the rigors of college academics. History On May 7, 1879 Eckley B. Coxe, the son of a prominent Philadelphia judge and the owner of a large mining area, opened his own school - the Industrial School for Miners and Mechanics. Twenty-nine male applicants, ranging in age from 12 to 24 walked into a small two-story building in Drifton, PA, seeking an education. Eighteen were rejected due to the school's high standards. Of the 11 who were accepted, eight successfully completed their first year. The first instructor was O.J. Heinrich. He was succeeded by John R. Wagner, who also managed the school until 1893 when Coxe selected a Board of Directors to manage the school. Early Curriculum At the time, classes were held two hours a night, six nights a week. When the mines were closed, students met for six hours a day. They studied spelling, reading, writing, grammar, composition, algebra, bookkeeping, geometry, trigonometry, mechanical drawing, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, drafting, mining, and other courses. The curriculum was designed to produce intelligent foremen, not engineers. Coxe often had to go to Europe for the technical training he needed, and he wished to make it available in the United States. Remodeling In 1888, a fire completely destroyed the Drifton school. The school reopened, now called the Miners and Mechanics' Institute of Freeland, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1893. It was located on the third floor of a building on Centre St in Freeland. Within five weeks, the board of directors decided to lease eight more rooms in another building to accommodate increasing enrollment. It was at this meeting that the name of the school was changed yet again, to the Mining and