Washington School (Mississippi)
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{{Infobox school
| name = Washington School
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| logo = Mississippi WS logo.jpg
| logo_size = 205px
| motto = Exitus Acta Probat
| established = 1969
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| type = Private segregation academy
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| affiliation = Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Independent Schools, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
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| headmaster = Jeff Pinnow
| head_name = Head of School
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| head_name2 = Secondary Principal
| head2 = John Grant
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| enrollment = 740 (approximately)
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| grades = pre-kindergarten — 12
| streetaddress = 1605 East Reed Road
| city = Greenville
| state = Mississippi
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| coordinates = {{coord|33|23|03|N|91|1|29|W|display=inline;title|type:edu}}
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| pushpin_map = Mississippi
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| colors = Blue and Gold {{color box|blue}}{{color box|gold}}
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| mascot = The General
| free_label = Emblem
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| website = http://www.generals.ws
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| lastupdate = 2nd April 2024
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Washington School is a private school in Greenville, Mississippi. Washington School offers pre-school, elementary, middle, and college preparatory education to Greenville and the surrounding areas. It was established as a segregation academy in response to Brown v. Board of Education.{{cite news|last1=Hongo|first1=Andrew|title=The Fight for Education Equity in Mississippi|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/education-nation/commentary-fight-education-equity-mississippi-n107711|accessdate=16 July 2015|agency=NBC News|date=16 May 2014}}
History
{{Blockquote
|text= “One act of stupidity and we have paid for it ever since. The story of Greenville would have been very different if the school had never opened. I’ve been watching two generations of families and kids, and all the resegregation. Now every white family that can afford it sends their kids there.” Bob Boyd on the state of the school systems in Greenville 2016, Delta Democrat Times.{{Cite news|url=https://hechingerreport.org/anonymous-town-model-desegregation-civil-rights-era/|title=The Anonymous Town That Was the Model of Desegregation in the Civil-Rights Era|last=Hancock|first=LynNell|date=2016-10-03|work=Hechinger Report|access-date=2017-11-22|issn=0027-8378|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005151340/https://hechingerreport.org/anonymous-town-model-desegregation-civil-rights-era/ |archive-date=October 5, 2016}}
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{{further|Education segregation in the Mississippi Delta}}
The school was established as a segregation academy{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Jane |title=JANE ADAMS Southern Illinois University, Carbondale D. GORTON Carbondale, Illinois Confederate Lane: Class, race, and ethnicity in the Mississippi Delta |url=http://www.mississippidelta.com/AE_288-309.pdf |publisher=Southern Illinois University |access-date=18 November 2022 |page=302}} in response to the racial integration of the local public schools in 1969, with its first classes beginning in September 1970.{{cite web |title=Greenville Schools |url=https://www.deltastate.edu/library/departments/archives-museum/guides-to-the-collection/manuscript-collections/mccormick-collection/greenville-schools/ |website=Delta State University Library |publisher=Delta State University |access-date=18 November 2022}} In 1971, the school joined the Mississippi Private Schools Association, which had been created to help segregation academies organize school athletics and file legal documents to qualify for tax-deductible status with the IRS.{{cite web |last1=Flora IV |first1=Ernest |title=Instant Schools: The Frenzied Formation And Early Days Of The Mississippi Private School AssociationMississippi Private School Association |url=https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2852&context=etd |publisher=University of Mississippi |access-date=18 November 2022}}
In its first year, Washington School had a total of 23 staff members and 323 students. Classes were originally held in the current elementary building. Enrollment in 2016 was 700 students with the average size of a graduating class being around 60 students. As of 2016, the school's students are 98% Caucasian, but Washington County is over 72% African American and the Greenville metro area is over 85% African American .{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/28151/ql|title=Census Bureau: Washington County, Mississippi QuickFacts|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/greenvillecitymississippi/PST045219 |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Greenville city, Mississippi |website=www.census.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312040000/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/greenvillecitymississippi/PST045219 |archive-date=2020-03-12}}
Notable alumni
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Mississippi|Schools}}
- [http://generals.ws School Web Site]
{{Greenville, Mississippi}}
{{Washington County, Mississippi Schools}}
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Category:Private K–12 schools in Mississippi
Category:Schools in Washington County, Mississippi
Category:Preparatory schools in Mississippi
Category:Segregation academies in Mississippi
Category:Educational institutions established in 1969