| Madison-Ridgeland Academy | |
| Motto: | Educating the Mind, Body & Spirit |
| Religious Affiliation: | Christianity |
| Established: | 1969 |
| Type: | Independent |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Affiliations: | Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools |
| Principal: | Greg Self (high school) Ben Haindel (middle school) |
| Headmaster: | "Termie" Land |
| Dean: | Herbert Davis (high school) Danny White (middle school) |
| Enrollment: | 1,200 (est.) |
| Grades: | K3-12 |
| Address: | 7601 Old Canton Road |
| City: | Madison |
| State: | Mississippi |
| Country: | United States |
| District: | 6A |
| Pushpin Map: | Mississippi |
| Accreditation: | SACS, SAIS, MAIS |
| Campus: | Suburban |
| Colors: | MRA Red, White, Patriot Blue |
| Athletics: | Basketball, Baseball, Football, Golf, Track & Field, Cross Country, Tennis, Soccer, Volleyball, and Archery |
| Rival: | Jackson Prep, Jackson Academy |
| Newspaper: | The Patriot Recap |
| Nickname: | Patriots |
Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA, Madison-Ridgeland) is a private, co-educational school in Madison, Mississippi, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. It was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. There are 4 divisions; the Kindergarten (K3-K5), the Elementary (1st–5th grade), the Middle School (6th–8th grade), and the High School (9th–12th).
Madison-Ridgeland Academy was established in 1969 as a segregation academy,[1] to serve the communities of Madison, Ridgeland and other surrounding cities.[2] MRA was housed in a Madison church for its first year as a school; the following year the school relocated to their first facility on their 25 acre campus.[3] In 1971, MRA joined the Mississippi Private School Association, a group formed to legitimize segregation academies.[4]
In 1970, MRA was one of three segregation academies named in a lawsuit by the NAACP because the state provided public funding enabling the private schools to prolong school segregation.[5]
In 2019, University of Mississippi chancellor Glenn Boyce was criticized because of his past affiliation with Madison-Ridgeland Academy.[6]
The school has a strict dress code and does not allow any bright colored clothing other than school colors nor Black hairstyles such as cornrows, dreadlocks or twists.[7]
As of 1986, the school had never enrolled a black student, although it had a nondiscrimination policy and had received several inquiries.[8] As of 2012, 95 percent of the students were white, 2 percent were Asian and 2 percent were black.[9]
In 2019, Nicolas Rowan became the school's first African-American salutatorian.[10]
The school's sports programs have won multiple MAIS football championships, the most recent being in 2021. The school nickname is Patriots.[11]