Amelia Academy

Coordinates: 37°19′51″N 77°59′4″W / 37.33083°N 77.98444°W / 37.33083; -77.98444

Amelia Academy
Location
8741 N Five Forks Rd, Amelia Courthouse
Information
Type Private
Established 1964[1]
Principal Rodney Taylor
Grades K-12
Enrollment 188
Campus Suburban
Color(s) maroon and navy blue
Athletics conference VISAA, VCC
Mascot Patriots
Website Amelia Academy

Amelia Academy is an independent co-educational college preparatory school in Amelia, Virginia. It was founded in 1964 as a school of choice. The campus is located within the rural Piedmont region of central Virginia.

History

Amelia Academy was founded in 1964 during Virginia's policy of massive resistance to involuntary integration of public schools.[2] At this time most of the white students in Amelia County transferred to the new Amelia Academy as a school of choice.[3]

Like many such schools, Amelia Academy had its tax-exempt status suspended by the Internal Revenue Service in the early 1970s due to its perceived racially discriminatory admission policies. The school has since regained its tax-exempt status as it has continually integrated. [4]

Amelia Academy regained its tax exempt status in 1985.[5] However, in February 1986 the Internal Revenue Service announced that it was opening an investigation to determine whether the Amelia Academy and two other Virginia private schools had in fact abandoned racial discrimination in admissions.[6] In April 1986 the IRS announced that both the Amelia Academy and the Isle of Wight Academy would have their tax exemptions revoked.[5]

As of 1988, no Black student had ever attended the school. In May of that year, headmistress Dallas De K. Lewis told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that "We have an open-door policy. We'd be delighted if we could get some other races."[2] In 1993, the school's lack of integration was the subject of controversy when gubernatorial candidate George Allen attended a school fundraiser and was surprised to discover that it was all-white.[7]

Athletics

Amelia Academy is a member of the Virginia Commonwealth Conference (VCC). Their teams are known as "The Patriots." Other member schools are Blessed Sacrament Huguenot, Brunswick Academy, Fuqua School, Isle of Wight Academy, Richmond Christian School, Southampton Academy, and Tidewater Academy. The boys’ basketball squad won the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) State Championship, as well as the VCC regular season and conference tournament three times between 2011 and 2013. In 2013, the Amelia Academy Lady Patriots won the VISAA State Championship, the VCC regular season and tournament championships; in 2012, they were VISAA State runner-up, as well as VCC regular season and tournament champions.

References

  1. ↑ "History". Amelia Academy. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Schermerhorn, William (May 18, 1988). "Common Ground - All the Walls Haven't Come Tumbling Down". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  3. ↑ "Mannboro Postmaster Offers More Than Mail". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 23, 1985.
  4. ↑ Prentice-Hall federal taxes. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1974. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Gordon, Richard E. (April 16, 1986). "Prince Edward Academy Given Tax Exempt Status". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  6. ↑ "Democrat Says IRS Probing Three Schools". Richmond Times-Dispatch. February 26, 1986.
  7. ↑ "A SCHOOL LEFT BEHIND BY THE TIMES". 9 August 1993. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, September 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.