Washington School is a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. Hi ...

. Washington School offers pre-school, elementary, middle, and college preparatory education to Greenville and the surrounding areas. It was established as a

segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

in response to ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

''.

History

The school was established as a

in response to the

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

of the local public schools in 1969, with its first classes beginning in September 1970. In 1971, the school joined the Mississippi Private Schools Association, which had been created to help segregation academies organize school athletics and file legal documents to qualify for tax-deductible status with the IRS. In its first year, Washington School had a total of 23 staff members and 323 students. Classes were originally held in the current elementary building. Enrollment in 2016 was 700 students with the average size of a graduating class being around 60 students. As of 2016, the school's students are 98%

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

, but Washington County is over 72%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and the Greenville metro area is over 85% African American .

Notable alumni

Eden Brent Eden Brent (born November 16, 1965 in Greenville, Mississippi, United States) is an American musician on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues pianist and vocalist, she combines boogie-woogie with elements of blues, jazz, soul, gospel ...

, musicianhttps://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/mississippi-musicians/eden-brent

References

External links

School Web Site
{{authority control Private elementary schools in Mississippi Private middle schools in Mississippi Private high schools in Mississippi Schools in Washington County, Mississippi Preparatory schools in Mississippi Segregation academies in Mississippi Educational institutions established in 1969