Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA, Madison-Ridgeland) is a private, co-educational school in

Madison, Mississippi Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The city of Madison, named ...

, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. It was founded in 1969 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. ...

. 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, to serve the communities of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Ridgeland and other surrounding cities. MRA was housed in a

church for its first year as a school; the following year the school relocated to their first facility on their 25 acre campus. In 1971, MRA joined the

Mississippi Private School Association The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its ...

, a group formed to legitimize segregation academies. 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. In 2019,

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

chancellor Glenn Boyce was criticized because of his past affiliation with Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

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.

Demographics

As of 1986, the school had never enrolled a black student, although it had a nondiscrimination policy and had received several inquiries. As of 2012, 95 percent of the students were white, 2 percent were Asian and 2 percent were black. In 2019 Nicolas Rowan became the school's first African-American salutatorian.

Athletics

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

Notable people

Glenn Boyce Glenn Boyce is an American academic administrator. He is currently the chancellor of the University of Mississippi. Prior to working at the university, Boyce was commissioner of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning from 2015 to 2018 an ...

, chancellor of the

coached football at MRA * Jack Carlisle, coached football at MRA *

Saahdiq Charles Saahdiq Charles (born July 26, 1999) is an American football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by Washington in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. C ...

, football tackle,

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Tate Ellington James Tate Ellington (born April 17, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Aidan Hall, the best friend of Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) in the 2010 romantic drama film '' Remember Me''. Ellington starred as Oliver Hunt in ''The Elephant Kin ...

, actor *

Dallas Walker Dallas Walker (born February 22, 1988) is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. College Walker played college football at Western Michigan University (WMU). He initially spent a redshirt season at the University of Memphi ...

, football player *

Ruston Webster Ruston Rials Webster (born September 30, 1962) is an American football scout for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as general manager of the Tennessee Titans. During his time with the Seattle Seahawk ...

, scout for the

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, former general manager of the

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References

{{authority control Private middle schools in Mississippi Private elementary schools in Mississippi Private high schools in Mississippi Schools in Madison County, Mississippi Preparatory schools in Mississippi Private schools in the Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Segregation academies in Mississippi