Bayou Academy

Private school
  Athletics conferenceMAIS Div. AAA District 1[3]MascotColts[3]RivalsLee Academy, Indianola AcademyAccreditationMAIS[3]AffiliationNon-sectarian[2]Websitewww.bayouacademy.net

Bayou Academy is a non-profit school located in unincorporated Bolivar County, Mississippi, near the City of Cleveland on Highway 8. The school serves about 500 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. The school is accredited by the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools.

History

Bayou Academy was founded in 1964 as a segregation academy.[4] In 1966, the all-white school board sold Skene Attendance Center to a white group called Skene Civic Improvement Society, Inc. for $1.00. The property was then leased to Bolivar Academy, achieving a transfer of public property to the segregationist group.[5] After the United States Supreme Court decided Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education in 1969, ordering the desegregation of public schools in the South, the all-white Bayou Academy doubled its enrollment for the 1970 school year.[6] In 2009, the old Skene school building burned to the ground.[7]

In 2021 the former elementary school principal was arrested for placing a camera in the girls locker room.[8]

Of the 372 students who attended in the 2011–2012 school year, 99 percent were white.[9]

Sports

Bayou Academy Elementary hosts several sports for different grades including: cross country (boys and girls), swim (boys and girls), peewee basketball (boys and girls), peewee cheer (girls), peewee football (boys). The sports in Bayou Academy high school register in grades starting at 7th grade and ends with 12th grade. The following sports are played by both male and female: Track, cross country, basketball, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis. The next few sports are male only: Football, baseball. The following sports are female only: Cheer, softball

References

  1. ^ a b "Headmaster". Bayou Academy. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  2. ^ a b c "Bayou Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2008-02-12. Total enrollment: 254
  3. ^ a b c d "Bayou Academy". Mississippi Association of Independent Schools. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  4. ^ Thornton, Mary (1983-04-21). "A Legacy of Legal Segregation Returns to Haunt a Small Town". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  5. ^ "Board seeks return of school". Clarksdale, Mississippi: Clarksdale Press Register. November 29, 1983. Retrieved 15 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jason Sokol (14 August 2007). There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-307-27550-9. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  7. ^ Hartfield, Charles. "Abandoned School Set Ablaze: Fraternity Fundraiser Jeopardized". Archived from the original on February 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Warren, Anthony (February 1, 2022). "School principal charged with attempted child exploitation". WLBT. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Bayou Academy". Private School Universe Survey. U.S. Department of Education.

External links

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Education in Bolivar County, Mississippi
Public high schools
Cleveland SD
Consolidated
  • Cleveland High
  • East Side High
North Bolivar CSD
  • Northside
Consolidated
West Bolivar CSD
Closed
  • Ray Brooks School
Other
Closed
  • Bolivar County Agricultural High School
Independent schools
Secular private
K-12 schools
  • Bayou Academy
Tertiary education
Universities
Community college districts serving the county are: Mississippi Delta Community College and Coahoma Community College
Benoit SD previously operated Ray Brooks, Mound Bayou PSD previously operated Kennedy High, and Shaw SD previously operated Shaw High
See also: Education segregation in the Mississippi Delta
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Education
Consolidated
  • Cleveland High
  • East Side High
Transportation
  • Cleveland Municipal Airport
Media
Landmarks
(*) Bayou Academy is in an unincorporated area near Cleveland and is not in the city limits.
(**) The community colleges do not have their main campuses in Cleveland nor do they have any other facilities in Cleveland, but Bolivar County is within their service areas


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