Calhoun Academy (Mississippi)

Calhoun Academy
Calhoun Academy in 1984
Address
9 County Road 406 Pittsboro , Mississippi 38916 United States
Coordinates	33°54′52″N89°19′33″W / 33.914434°N 89.3259218°W / 33.914434; -89.3259218
Information
Type	Private
Established	1968
Founders	Segregationists
NCES School ID	A9303329 [1]
Headmaster	Donald Pendergrast
Grades	PK-12
Enrollment	105 [1]  (2018)
Nickname	Cougars
Accreditation	Midsouth Association of Independent Schools
Affiliation	Baptist [1]
Website	https://www.calhounacademycougars.org

Calhoun Academy (CA) is a private school in Pittsboro, Mississippi, founded in 1968 as a segregation academy. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Further information: Education segregation in the Mississippi Red Clay region

Calhoun Academy is a racially discriminatory institution formed in the wake of public school desegregation to provide a haven for segregated education.

—  William Colbert Keady, Cook v. Hudson ^[4]

^[5]

When the Federal government began forcing Mississippi schools to accept black students, many white parents sought ways to avoid sending their children to school with black children. In 1968, Calhoun Academy was created to give white students the opportunity of a segregated education. ^{[4] [6]}

In 1970, Calhoun Academy lost its tax exempt status when it declined to share its admissions policies with the IRS. ^[7]

In 1972, the Calhoun County board of education adopted a policy that public school teachers must enroll their children in public schools as a condition of retaining their employment. ^[8] When 3 teachers were dismissed under this policy, they sued in federal court, alleging that the schoolboard had violated their First Amendment right to freedom of association and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. ^[4] District court Judge William Keady ruled that Calhoun Academy was a racially discriminatory institution and the school board's policy was a permissible regulation to eliminate racial discrimination. ^[4] The ruling was upheld in a 2-1 ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. ^[8] The Supreme Court initially agreed to review the case, but ultimately declined to hear an appeal. ^{[9] [10]}

In 1999 a white supremacist group, the Council of Conservative Citizens, reported that they had raised over $100,000 for Calhoun Academy. In 2011, at the urging of the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools, the school cut ties to the group. ^[11] By 2016, the school had been given tax exempt status by the IRS.

Campus

The campus is located at the intersection of Highway 9 and Academy Road.

Drug testing

All students in grades 6-12 are subject to mandatory drug testing. ^[12]

Demographics

As of 2012, the student population was 100% white. ^[13] In the 2015-2016 school year, the school had 155 students, all of whom were white. ^[14] In the 2018 school year, attendance was 105, 104 of whom were white and 1 of whom was Hispanic. ^[15]

References

1. "Search for Public Schools - A9303329 (A9303329)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved December 8, 2021.
2. Spencer, Mack (17 May 2004). "Public domain, private options". Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
3. Bolton, Charles C. (2005). The Hardest Deal of All . Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN   9781578067176.
4. Cook v. Hudson, 365 F. Supp. 855 - Dist. Court, ND Mississippi (1973)
5. "US judge rules on teachers". Delta Democrat-Times. Greenville, Mississippi. November 8, 1973. Retrieved 10 May 2020– via newspapers.co.
6. Drinkwater Jr, W. Wayne, and Charles Claiborne Barksdale. Cook v. Hudson: The State's Interest in Integration versus the First Amendment Rights on the Public Schoolteacher Miss. LJ 45 (1974): 953.
7. "11 Miss. private schools lose tax-exempt status". Hattiesburg American. August 18, 1970. p. 1.
8. Cook v. Hudson, 511 F. 2d 744 - Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit (1975)
9. "SUPREME COURT SIDESTEPS MISSISSIPPI TEACHER CASE". The New York Times. 1976-12-08. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-11-14.
10. Cook v. Hudson 429 U.S. 165 (1976)
11. Beirich, Heidi (January 10, 2011) [October 28, 2010]. "White Supremacist Group Backs Private Academies in Mississippi" . Retrieved 8 December 2021.
12. "2013-2014 Student Handbook". Calhoun Academy Cougars. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
13. "Students" . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
14. "Private School Universe". NCES. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
15. "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for CALHOUN ACADEMY".