Starkville Academy facts for kids

Starkville Academy (SA) is a private school in Starkville, Mississippi. It teaches students from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. The school was started in 1969 by the Oktibbeha Educational Foundation. It is located next to Starkville High School.

School History

Before 1969, schools in Starkville were set up differently. There were separate schools for Black students and White students. White students went to Starkville High School. Black students attended Oktibbeha County Training School, which was later called Henderson High School.

In the late 1960s, the government made rules for schools to be open to all students. This meant students of all races could attend the same schools. Many parents wanted to keep their children in separate schools. So, Starkville Academy was created in 1969. It was a private school where white children could continue to have a separate education.

Over the years, Starkville Academy faced questions about its policies. In 1970, the school's special tax status was removed. This happened because the school did not show that it had a fair admissions policy for all races.

In 1974, a group of private schools, including Starkville Academy, were part of a lawsuit. The lawsuit was about a state program that helped pay for some students to attend private schools. A court decided in 1977 that this program was unfair. It allowed money to go to schools that did not accept all students. This went against the United States Constitution.

In 1984, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the city of Starkville. The NAACP is a group that works for equal rights. They said the city was giving free water and electricity to Starkville Academy. The NAACP argued this was unfair help to a school that had rules about who could attend.

In 1993, the NAACP asked the Starkville School District to make a rule. They wanted public school teachers to not send their own children to private schools that were not open to all students. At that time, the head of Starkville Academy said no Black students had ever applied or enrolled.

In 2015, the Starkville School District and the Oktibbeha County School District joined together. This created the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. After this, some students left Starkville Academy.

Student Population

In 2012, most of the students at Starkville Academy were white. About 96% of students were white. A small number of students were Asian, Hispanic, or Black. By the 2015–16 school year, eight out of 615 students were Black.

School Sports

Starkville Academy's sports teams are called the Volunteers. They play in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools league.

In 2019, the Starkville Academy football team won a big championship. They won the MAIS AAA State Championship. This was their seventh MAIS Championship in school history.

In 2016, the girls' soccer team also won a championship. They won their first MAIS soccer championship in Division III.

Famous Graduates

• Scott Tracy Griffin, an author
• Neely Tucker, a journalist and author
• Casey Woods, an NCAA football coach