Thomas Heyward Academy Explained

Thomas Heyward Academy
Streetaddress:	1727 Malphrus Road
City:	Ridgeland, South Carolina
Country:	United States
Zipcode:	29936
Coordinates:	32.511°N -81.0006°W
Grades:	PK - 12
Enrollment:	311
Enrollment As Of:	02016
Head Of School:	Scott Gibson
Mascot:	Rebels
Yearbook:	Rebel Yell

Thomas Heyward Academy is a private school located in Ridgeland, South Carolina. The school, founded as a segregation academy in 1970, was named after Thomas Heyward Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation who was a native of Ridgeland. The schools nickname is The Rebels.^[1]

It offers pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. The school is a member of the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA), which was founded in 1965 to provide resources for segregation academies.^{[2] [3]}

History

In 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education ordered that public schools in the United States must be open to children of all races. A group affiliated with the White Citizens Council^[4] founded a segregation academy in order to preserve segregation for white children.^{[5] [6]} The school was named after Thomas Heyward Jr., an 18th century Ridgeland native who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and a major slaveholder.^{[7] [8]} The school teams play using the nickname The Rebels and the school yearbook is the Rebel Yell, which was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War.

Policies

The school has a non-discrimination policy in the areas of race, color, national, and ethnic origin. Any student who becomes pregnant or fathers a child is immediately expelled. Corporal punishment is allowed.^[9]

Demographics

In the 2015–2016 school year, 5 of 295 students in grades 1-12 were black.^[10] In 2018, there were 9 black students, or less than 3% out of a total enrollment of 306.^[11] For comparison, Beaufort County, South Carolina had a population that was 25% black^[12] and Jasper County, South Carolina had a population that was 43% black.^[13]

Notable people

Paul Murdaugh, 'Rebel' varsity athlete and member of the class of 2017.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Smith . Patrick . The Rebel Made Me Do It: Mascots, Race, and the Lost Cause . 5 May 2021.
2. News: King Day at the Dome: Cotton is King no more. The State. January 18, 2009. Tom Turnipseed. I was the first executive director of the S.C. Independent School Association, formed in 1965 by seven private schools that wanted to share resources, establish more private schools and avoid public-school desegregation. My job was to help local groups of white parents organize private schools so their children would not attend schools desegregated by federal courts. I was a grassroots organizer and helped establish 30 private, segregated academies from 1965 to 1967, mostly in the area now known as the Corridor of Shame..
3. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/blair_monica_k_201505_ma.pdf
4. Anderson, Robert E., Jr. The South and Her Children: School Desegregation 1970-1971. A Report Southern Regional Council (March 1971)
5. News: White Parents Flee Public Schools. Federal Times. Army Times Publishing Company. 1 January 1971. en.
6. News: No accident of history . 2021-02-24 . The Post and Courier . November 14, 2018. Thomas Heyward Academy opened in rural Jasper County in 1970, the year that most districts in South Carolina desegregated under court order. It was one of dozens of private schools that opened to white students as the state resisted integration in the late 1960s and 1970s.. Jennifer . Hawes. Seanna. Adcox. Paul . Bowers . Thad . Moore . Glenn . Smith .
7. News: Lee . Henry . Declaration of Independence signers paid big price for freedom . Nashville Banner . July 4, 1963 . 3.
8. Web site: Thomas Heyward Jr. . The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence . 12 July 2020.
9. Web site: 2020/2021 K4 – 12 STUDENT/PARENT HANDBOOK . 20 May 2021.
10. Web site: Private School Universe Survey. National Center for Education Statistics. 20 November 2017.
11. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=Jasper&State=45&ID=01264448
12. Web site: ACS School District Profile 2015-19 .
13. Web site: ACS School District Profile 2015-19 .
14. Web site: Paul Murdaugh Career Home. MaxPreps.com. March 2017. March 31, 2023.