Thomas Heyward Academy
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.
It offers pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. The school is a member of the South Carolina [Independent School Association], which was founded in 1965 to provide resources for segregation academies.
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 founded a segregation academy in order to preserve segregation for white children. 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. 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.
Demographics
In the 2015–2016 school year, 5 of 295 students in grades 1-12 were black. In 2018, there were 9 black students, or less than 3% out of a total enrollment of 306. For comparison, Beaufort County, South Carolina had a population that was 25% black and Jasper County, South Carolina had a population that was 43% black.
Notable people
, 'Rebel' varsity athlete and member of the class of 2017.