Robert E. Lee Academy

Robert E. Lee Academy is a co-educational private school in Bishopville, South Carolina, United States. It was established in 1965 as a segregation academy[3][4] and continued to serve an overwhelmingly white student body in the 2000s, with only three black students among a student body of more than 250 in 2018.

Robert E. Lee Academy
Address
630 Cousar Street

Bishopville
,
South Carolina
29010

United States
Coordinates34.2234882°N 80.2306271°W / 34.2234882; -80.2306271
Information
TypePrivate school
Established1965 (1965)
NCES School ID01265066[1]
Head of schoolBrad Bochette[2]
Teaching staff24.8 (on a FTE basis)[1]
GradesPK–12
GenderCo-educational
Enrollment283 (2017–2018, excluding PK)[1]
Student to teacher ratio11.4[1]
NicknameCavaliers
Websitewww.myleeacademy.org

History

Prior to 1965, Bishopville High School served white students, while black students attended Dennis High School three blocks away. In 1965, the Federal government mandated the integration of public schools in South Carolina. In response, many segregation academies like Robert E. Lee Academy were established by white parents so their children could continue with a segregated education.[5][6] The school is named after the Confederate general and slaveholder Robert E. Lee. According to civil rights activist Tom Turnipseed, Robert E. Lee academy was part of a pattern of segregation academies established in response to desegregation and named after Confederate leaders.[7]

As of 2000, the school did not enroll a single black student. In contrast, 92% of students in Lee County public schools were black.[8] As of 2018, the school had three black students out of a total 268.[1] Turnispeed argued that, as a result of the support of Robert E. Lee Academy by Bishopville's white power structure, public schools in Lee county struggled to raise taxes to educate their predominantly black student populations.[7]

In the summer of 2020, the school announced plans to change the name to Lee Academy.[2]

Academics

The school is accredited by the South Carolina Independent School Association[9] and is internationally accredited by Cognia.[10] College credits can be earned through Central Carolina Technical College.[11]

Athletics

Although the school was founded to preserve segregation, the football teams of Robert E. Lee and Lee Central, whose student body is 96% black, meet together for an annual pregame meal, and have for a dozen years.[12] In 2019, the school won the SCISA 2A championship in baseball.[13]

References
  1. "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for ROBERT E LEE ACADEMY". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. Brunson, Dennis (July 21, 2020). "Head of Lee Academy details the reasons behind name change". Sumter Item. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. Estes, Steve (2015). Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the South after the Civil Rights Movement. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 93. ISBN 9781469622323.
  4. Gloria Ladson-Billings (October 2004). "Landing on the Wrong Note: The Price We Paid for Brown". Educational Researcher. 33 (7): 3–13. doi:10.3102/0013189x033007003. JSTOR 3700092. S2CID 144660677.
  5. "DENNIS HIGH SCHOOL". SC Picture Project. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  6. Burns, Randy (February 18, 2011). "March on Elliott to celebrate Lee County's black leaders". Sumter Item. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  7. Turnipseed, Tom (April 12, 1999). "It's time for educational justice". The Times and Democrat. p. 16. Retrieved October 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Segregation still a problem in Lee county youth baseball". Orangeburg Times & Democrat. August 23, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved October 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Lee Academy". South Carolina Independent School Association. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  10. "Institution Summary". Cognia. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  11. "2018-2019 Annual Effectiveness Report" (PDF). Central Carolina Technical College. p. 20. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  12. Babb, Kent (October 30, 2014). "Black and white football players find common ground in a South Carolina county". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  13. "Robert E. Lee Academy baseball team wins SCISA Class 2A state championship". May 16, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.