The Massachusetts Academy is one of the oldest and most respected private college preparatory ("prep") schools in the United States. The Academy was founded in 1700 to bring "proper breeding and culture to the children of the gentry of the wilderness," according to the school's official history. Located in the Berkshire Mountains in Snow Valley, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Academy has for decades been attended by the children of America's social, economic, and political elites. The school teaches young people from grades seven through twelve (senior year of high school). It is a boarding school, with students living on campus.

The Massachusetts Academy's past headmistress was Emma Frost, a brilliant woman who was chairperson of the Academy's Board of Trustees and had proven to be very popular with the students. Frost devoted much of her time to her work as chairperson of the board and chief executive of her corporation, Frost International, but she still managed to spend a surprisingly great amount of time at the Academy. Her subordinates ran the day-to-day affairs of the school in her absence.

However, unknown to most of the students and employees at the Academy, Frost was also, at the time, the White Queen of the secret Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. The Inner Circle sought to achieve world domination through-political and economic means. Frost secretly trained adolescent superhuman mutants she called the Hellions in the use of their powers in an underground complex beneath the Academy. The complex included a Combat Room built according to the original design (stolen by the Inner Circle) for the Danger Room at the X-Men's headquarters before Shi'ar technology was added to it. The Hellions also studied as regular students at the Academy. Frost intended that the Hellions would eventually use their powers on the Inner Circle's behalf. Frost also secretly trained the young superhuman mutant Firestar in the use of her powers at the Academy for a time, but apart from the Hellions.

Since the X-Men were all now highly trained adults, Xavier renamed the school in his mansion The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. He took control of the private school, and made it the new School for Gifted Youngsters, where yet another new class of young mutants, Generation X, were taught. After a few years of operations the Generation X team decided to disband and go their seperate ways, the Academy was closed.

First Appearance: X-Men #151