Pulaski Academy (PA) is a

private 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 ...

, independent college preparatory preschool, elementary, and junior/senior

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

headed by Brock Dunn in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood of

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, United States. PA was established in 1971 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. ...

and remains as the only independent, non-sectarian,

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

in Arkansas.

History

When busing was introduced in the early 1970s to counteract the effects of racially defined residential patterns, whites built private schools in the suburbs or fled the county altogether. In 1971, the segregationist businessman William F. Rector announced the construction of the private Pulaski Academy in the western suburbs of the city for those, he said, who "don't like busing." Pulaski was the first school established after the '' Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education'' decision (1971). Rector said, "I even hope we'll be allowed to play ''

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

'' if we want to without having a riot about it." In 2003, one of 102 graduating seniors was black. In the 2015–2016 school year, 955 of 1,221 students in grades 1-12 were white (78%). In 2016, Little Rock was 48% white. In 2006, Pulaski Academy purchased the campus of Fellowship Bible Church, on the corner of Hinson and Napa Valley, increasing the campus to .

Academics

PA is accredited by ISACS (

Independent Schools Association of the Central States Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...

), and ANSAA (Arkansas Non-public School Accrediting Association). PA is a member of the

Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...

, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE),

Arkansas Activities Association The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) is the primary sanctioning body for high school sports in state of Arkansas. AAA is a member association of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). Every public secondary sch ...

(AAA),

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

and NAIS (

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

). Pulaski Academy was named 2003 "Best of the Best" Private High School by the readers of an

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of i ...

contest. During the 2008–09 academic year, fifteen members of the Class of 2009 were named as National Merit Scholars, three as Commended Scholars and twelve as Finalists. Enrollment for 2009-10 is approximately 1,210 K-12 students, with a student/teacher ratio of 8.9:1.

Extracurricular activities

The school's mascot is the

Bruin Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, Ke ...

and school colors are Navy blue and Vegas gold. For 2012–14, the Pulaski Academy Bruins play in the 5A Central Conference administered by the

. The school participates in baseball, basketball (boys/girls), cheer, cross country, Pom, football, soccer (boys/girls), softball, swimming and diving (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), golf (boys/girls) volleyball(girls), lacrosse (boys/girls), and wrestling. The school's football team has won nine state championships since 2003. The team was coached by Kevin Kelley until 2021, who gained notoriety for his

strategies Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " ar ...

, which include the total rejection of punting and returning punts, as well as a reliance on the

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the o ...

.The team is now coached by Anthony Lucas.

Athletic state championships

The Pulaski Academy Bruins have won 68 state championships: * Wrestling (3x): 2018, 2019, 2020 * Girls Tennis (15x): 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 * Boys Tennis (16x): 1987, 2002, Fall 2003, Spring 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 * Baseball (5x): 1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2013 5A * Girls Soccer (6x): 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2021 * Boys Soccer (3x): 2000, 2001, 2007 * Football (10x): (2003 3A), (2008 5A), (2011 4A) (2014 5A), (2015 5A), (2016 5A), (2017 5A), (2019 5A), (2020 5A), (2021 5A), (2022 6A) * Boys Basketball (2x): 2002, 2003 * All Golf Team (5x) : 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 *Dance (1x) : 2020

Notable alumni

Amy Lee Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...

, the lead singer of

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

. The song ''Listen to the Rain'', written by her, was sung at her Class of 2000 graduation ceremony *

Jonathan Luigs Jonathan Luigs (born August 11, 1986) is an American former college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). Luigs played college football for the University of Arkansas, earned consensus All-A ...

, played in the NFL for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Hunter Henry Hunter Henry (born December 7, 1994) is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round o ...

, tight end in the NFL for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

* Jason King, former offensive guard in the NFL for the

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

* Will Hastings, American football wide receiver * Ayana Gray, American novelist * David Venable, American intelligence officer, author, and business man

References

External links

* {{Authority control African-American history in Little Rock, Arkansas High schools in Little Rock, Arkansas Preparatory schools in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1971 Private high schools in Arkansas Private middle schools in Arkansas Private elementary schools in Arkansas Segregation academies in Arkansas 1971 establishments in Arkansas