Bayou Academy
Private school
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bayou Academy is a non-profit school located in unincorporated Bolivar County, Mississippi, near the City of Cleveland on Highway 8. The school serves about 500 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. The school is accredited by the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools.
| Bayou Academy | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 33.762°N 90.763°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1964[1] |
| Head of School | Will Reed[1] |
| Faculty | 30.5 (on FTE basis)[2] |
| Grades | Pre-Kindergarten to 12 |
| Enrollment | 350 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 7.1[2] |
| Colors | Royal Blue, and White[3] |
| Athletics conference | MAIS Div. AAA District 1[3] |
| Mascot | Colts[3] |
| Rivals | Lee Academy, Indianola Academy |
| Accreditation | MAIS[3] |
| Affiliation | Non-sectarian[2] |
| Website | www.bayouacademy.net |
History
Bayou Academy was founded in 1964 as a segregation academy.[4] In 1966, the all-white school board sold Skene Attendance Center to a white group called Skene Civic Improvement Society, Inc. for $1.00. The property was then leased to Bolivar Academy, achieving a transfer of public property to the segregationist group.[5] After the United States Supreme Court decided Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education in 1969, ordering the desegregation of public schools in the South, the all-white Bayou Academy doubled its enrollment for the 1970 school year.[6] In 2009, the old Skene school building burned to the ground.[7]
In 2021 the former elementary school principal was arrested for placing a camera in the girls locker room.[8]
Of the 372 students who attended in the 2011–2012 school year, 99 percent were white.[9]
