Strider Academy

Strider Academy was a PK-12 school in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States, which operated from 1971 until 2018. The school was established in 1971 as a segregation academy to allow white parents to avoid sending their children to racially integrated public schools. The school was sited on Mississippi Highway 32, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Charleston and about 8 miles (13 km) north of Tippo. The school ceased operations at the end of the 2017–18 school year.[1]

Strider Academy
Address
Strider Academy
3698 MS Highway 32 Central

Charleston
,
Mississippi
38921

United States
Coordinates33°58′13″N 90°14′02″W
Information
TypePrivate school
MottoAttitude Determines Altitude
Established1971 (1971)
Closed2018 (2018)[1]
GradesPK-12
Enrollment72[2] (2016)
Websitestrideracademy.wordpress.com

History

Strider Academy was founded in 1971 as a segregation academy[3] and was an accredited member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools.

The school campus suffered two fires in two weeks in August 1977. The main building and the field house were both destroyed. The FBI was involved in the investigation.[4]

In 1989, Greenwood public schools trustee Jeff Milman resigned after the NAACP protested his decision to enroll his children in Strider Academy instead of racially integrated public schools.[5]

In 1993, the school saw a surge of applications from white parents who were concerned about a plan to increase diversity in Greenwood public schools.[6]

As of 2016, the school's students were 96% white, but Tallahatchie County is 54% black.[7] Filings for the 2015–16 school year indicates that all seventy-two students at the school were white.[2] In July 2018, the school announced it would not reopen for the following school year.[1]

References
  1. McFerrin, Clay (July 10, 2018). "STRIDER ACADEMY WILL NOT OPEN THIS FALL". Sun-Sentinel.
  2. "Private School Universe". NCES. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  3. McGee, Meredith Coleman (2013-03-21). James Meredith: Warrior and the America that Created Him. ABC-CLIO. p. 40. ISBN 9780313397400.
  4. Faulkner, Ken (28 August 1977). "Officials comb scene at school fire for clues". Clarksdale Press Register. p. 1.
  5. "School board seeks a replacement". The Sun-Sentinel. Charleston. October 19, 1989. p. 1.
  6. Fava, Al (April 20, 1993). "Winona Academy a possible route of escape for students". Greenwood Commonwealth. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. McLaughlin, Eliott (May 27, 2016). "Could Mississippi integration ruling trigger 'white flight'?". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
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