Madison-Ridgeland Academy

Independent school in Madison, Mississippi, United States

AthleticsBasketball, Baseball, Football, Golf, Track & Field, Cross Country, Tennis, Soccer, Volleyball, and ArcheryNicknamePatriotsRivalJackson Prep, Jackson AcademyAccreditationSACS, SAIS, MAISNewspaperThe Patriot RecapAffiliationsMississippi Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsWebsitewww.mrapats.org

Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA, Madison-Ridgeland) is a private, co-educational school in Madison, Mississippi, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. It was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. There are 4 divisions; the Kindergarten (K3-K5), the Elementary (1st–5th grade), the Middle School (6th–8th grade), and the High School (9th–12th).

History

Madison-Ridgeland Academy was established in 1969 as a segregation academy,^[1] to serve the communities of Madison, Ridgeland and other surrounding cities.^[2] MRA was housed in a Madison church for its first year as a school; the following year the school relocated to their first facility on their 25 acre campus.^[3] In 1971, MRA joined the Mississippi Private School Association, a group formed to legitimize segregation academies.^[4]

In 1970, MRA was one of three segregation academies named in a lawsuit by the NAACP because the state provided public funding enabling the private schools to prolong school segregation.^[5]

In 2019, University of Mississippi chancellor Glenn Boyce was criticized because of his past affiliation with Madison-Ridgeland Academy.^[6]

Dress code

The school has a strict dress code and does not allow any bright colored clothing other than school colors nor Black hairstyles such as cornrows, dreadlocks or twists.^[7]

Demographics

As of 1986, the school had never enrolled a black student, although it had a nondiscrimination policy and had received several inquiries.^[8] As of 2012, 95 percent of the students were white, 2 percent were Asian and 2 percent were black.^[9]

In 2019, Nicolas Rowan became the school's first African-American salutatorian.^[10]

Athletics

The school's sports programs have won multiple MAIS football championships, the most recent being in 2021. The school nickname is Patriots.^[11]

Notable people

Glenn Boyce, chancellor of the University of Mississippi coached football at MRA^[6]
Jack Carlisle, coached football at MRA^[12]
Saahdiq Charles, football tackle, Washington Football Team
Tate Ellington, actor
Dallas Walker, football player
Ruston Webster, scout for the Atlanta Falcons, former general manager of the Tennessee Titans^[13]

References

^ Klein, Rebecca (2018-12-14). "The Segregation Academies That Now Ban Pregnant And LGBTQ Students". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
^ Hamby, Tom (December 27, 1969). "Whites deserting canton schools". Clarion Ledger. p. 1.
^ "History - Madison-Ridgeland Academy | Independent School, Madison, MS".
^ Flora IV, Ernest (2020). Instant Schools: The Frenzied Formation And Early Days Of The Mississippi Private School Association (PHD thesis). University of Mississippi. p. 97.
^ "State NAACP hits private school books". Greenwood Commonwealth. September 2, 1970. p. 1.
^ ^a ^b Payne, Daniel (October 5, 2009). "New chancellor worked at three 'segregation academies' early in his career". The Daily Mississippian. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^ Pittman, Ashton (December 21, 2018). "Mississippi's 'Seg Academies' Creating National Dialogue". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
^ Johnson, Hayes (September 5, 1986). "Academy Enrolls Black Student for First Time". Clarion-Ledger. p. 1B.
^ "Great Schools: Madison-Ridgeland Academy". Retrieved 2 November 2017.
^ Clark, Patrice (May 28, 2019). "First African-American MRA salutatorian scores millions in scholarships, chooses to attend Naval Academy". Retrieved 10 November 2019.
^ "Madison-Ridgeland Academy's defense dominates in MAIS 6A championship win vs. Hartfield Academy".
^ "Jack Carlisle".
^ "Official Website of the Atlanta Falcons Football Club".