Pillow Academy
Coordinates: 33°32′03″N 90°15′16″W / 33.534258°N 90.254384°W
| |
Name |
Pillow Academy |
Address |
U.S. Highway 82 W. |
City | |
Established |
1966 |
Type |
Independent |
Religion |
Christian |
Students |
Coeducational |
Grades |
K4 through 12 |
Tuition |
Approximately $5,000 |
Membership and Accreditations |
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools |
Mascot |
Mustangs |
Colors |
Green and Gold |
Yearbook |
Mustang Memories |
Newspaper |
Pony Express |
Website |
Pillow Academy (PA) is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school in unincorporated Leflore County, Mississippi, near Greenwood.[1] It was founded in 1966 as a segregation academy.
History
The school opened with grades K-8 in 1966.[1] It began as a segregation academy, started in resistance to the forced integration of the public school system.[2] From 1967-1969 grades 9 and 10 appeared. In 1969 a new high school building was built and grades 11 and 12 were added.[1] One of the founders of the Pillow Academy was Robert B. Patterson, also founder of the Association of White Citizens' Councils.[3]
In a 10-year period until 1998, Pillow grew by almost 25%. Many students who would have otherwise attended public schools, which were increasingly becoming mostly black, were instead going to Pillow. In 1998 Richard Rubin of The New York Times said "Whites in Greenwood are much more likely today than they were 10 years ago to openly admit that they send their children to Pillow Academy not because it is a better school but because of its racial composition."[3]
Campus
The 58-acre (23 ha) campus is located along U.S. Highway 82, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Greenwood.[4]
Student body
In the 2010-2011 school year the school had 816 students. Students come from Leflore, Carroll, Grenada, Holmes, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, and Washington counties.[4]
The New York Times noted that Pillow Academy enrolled almost 800 students for the 1997-98 school year and that not one of them was black.[3]
In the 2009-2010 school year, the demographic profile of the student body was 96.0% white, 1.7% black, and 1.9% Asian.[5] By comparison, the 2010 demographic profile of Leflore County showed the population as 24.9% white, 72.7% black, and 0.6% Asian.[6]
Notable alumni
- Louis Coleman, Major League Baseball pitcher[7]
- David Abney, CEO of United Parcel Service [8]
See also
- List of Private Schools in Mississippi
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About PA." Pillow Academy. Retrieved on August 10, 2010.
- ↑ Adam Lynch (18 November 2009). "Ceara’s Season". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Richard Rubin (30 August 1998). "Should the Mississippi Files Have Been Re-opened?". New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Profile of Pillow Academy 2010-2011." Pillow Academy. Retrieved on March 25, 2012.
- ↑ "Pillow Academy". Private School Universe Survey. U.S. Department of Education.
- ↑ "2010 Demographic Profile Data". U.S. Census Bureau. 2010.
- ↑ "Louis Coleman Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ↑ "United Postal Service Profile". United Postal Service. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
External links
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