Stratford Academy

Stratford Academy is an independent school in unincorporated Bibb County, Georgia, United States, near Macon. In 2015, there were 841 students enrolled in preschool through grade 12.[2]

Stratford Academy
Entrance sign
Location
Stratford Academy
Macon, Georgia
Coordinates32°51′41″N 83°45′18″W
Information
TypePrivate
Head of schoolLogan Bowlds[1]
Faculty148.5[2]
Grades3K-12
Enrollment841[2]
Campus size70 acres (28 ha)
Color(s)Blue and Silver
Team nameEagles
Websitewww.stratford.org

The school has a controversial history as part of the segregation academy movement.[3][4] As of 2017-18, approximately 21% of students were non-white.[2]

History
When Stratford Academy first opened in 1960, classes were held in the Cowles-Woodruff Mansion.[5]

Stratford was founded in 1960 by a group of white parents who wished to avoid the prospect of sending their children to racially integrated public schools.[4]:311[5] The founders viewed the desegregation of Bibb County public schools as an "impending crisis".[4] In September 1960, the school opened with 117 students and 17 faculty members in the antebellum Cowles-Woodruff Mansion on Coleman Hill in Macon's historic district.[5] Thirteen students became Stratford's first alumni in 1962, and since that time more than 2,700 have graduated from the school.[6] The graduation march in 1962 was Dixie, not the traditional Pomp and Circumstance.[6]

In 1970, the school's enrollment increased by 45 percent after the Supreme Court ordered the immediate desegregation of all public schools.[4]:313

In 1972, Stratford Academy was expelled from Georgia Association of Independent Schools because the school refused to cut ties with segregationists.[7] The school has since regained its affiliation with the association, now known as the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA).[8]

A news article published in May 2017 quoted political scientist Thomas Ellington, stating that schools in Macon founded between 1960 and 1972 "are remarkably different than both the public and private schools formed at other times, either before or after" insofar as "those schools are generally 5 percent or fewer African-American, in a community that's roughly 67 percent black, according to the last census".[3] In 2002, the school's headmaster, Edward England, announced financial grants to attract minority students. At the time, the student body was 93 percent white.[9]

Facilities

The current facilities were built in 1974 on more than 70 acres (28 ha) of wooded land in northwest Bibb County. The school completed its move when the Lower School and Kindergarten came to the campus in 1978. The new buildings represent a contemporary contrast to Overlook Mansion and house the four school divisions: Preschool, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. The 17,500-square-foot (1,630 m2) Olson Library was completed in August 2000.

The Daws Student Activities Center was dedicated in September, 2017.[10]

Athletics

The Stratford Academy Eagles athletics teams compete in the Georgia High School Association.[11] Prior to the 2014-15 school year, Stratford was a member of the Georgia Independent School Association.

Academics

Stratford earned accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (now known as Cognia) in 1982.[12]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Private School Macon, GA | Stratford Academy". www.stratford.org.
  2. "Private School Universe Survey". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. Kirklen, Ashley (May 18, 2017). "63 years after Brown v. Board, 'white flight' weighs on local family's school choice". WGXA. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  4. Manis, Andrew Michael (2004). Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780865549586.
  5. Jennings, Stephen Taylor and Matthew (2013). Macon. Arcadia Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 9781467111157.
  6. Fabian, Liz (May 24, 2012). "Stratford's 1st graduating class returns for reunion". Macon Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  7. "Six Schools kicked out for alleged segregation". Aiken Standard. May 1, 1972. p. 9. Six Schools Kicked Out For Alleged Segregation Six schools have been banished from the Georgia Association of Independent Schools (GAIS) after being accused of maintaining segregationist ties... They are Stratford Academy in Macon
  8. "List Of Member Schools – Georgia Independent School Association".
  9. Manis, Andrew (2004). Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780865549586.
  10. Honaker, Andrea (September 18, 2017). "Stratford wraps up $11 million campus project with new student center". Macon Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  11. "Stratford, Tattnall Move to GHSA". Macon News. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  12. "AdvancED - Institution Summary". www.advanc-ed.org.
  13. "Headed north: Macon's Quintez Cephus realizes NFL Draft dream". macon. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  14. Shirley, Daniel. "Russell Henley returns to Stratford for big day". macon.com.
  15. "Macon's Grey Henson shines as one of Broadway's brightest in 'Mean Girls' Tony nomination". macon. Retrieved 2018-07-31.

Further reading
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