Copiah Academy

Copiah Academy
Address
1144 East Gallman Road Gallman, Mississippi 39059 United States
Coordinates
Information
Founded	1967
Headmaster	Paul Hayles
Teaching staff	53.6 (FTE)
Grades	PK-12
Enrollment	744 (including 49 pre-K) (2013-2014)
Student to teacher ratio	13.0
Color(s)	Red and Blue
Nickname	Colonels
Affiliations	Southern Association of Independent Schools, and Mississippi Association of Independent Schools
Website	www.copiahedu.org

Copiah Academy (corporation name: Copiah Educational Foundation) is a independent, coeducational, college preparatory school enrolling 710 students in grades K3 through twelve. It was founded in 1967 as a segregation academy. The school sits in Copiah County, near the unincorporated community of Gallman, Mississippi.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 695 K-12 students enrolled in 2013-2014, as reported to the NCES was:

• Native American/Alaskan - 0.3%
• Black - 1.2%
• Hispanic - 0.1%
• White - 98.4%

History

Copiah Academy's first classes were held in 1967 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, just a few miles south of its current location. Because of a continued increase in the number of enrolled students, in 1970 classes were held in a one-million-dollar building on land donated by the T.M. Smith family. In the ensuing decades, Copiah Academy has expanded into a complex that offers educational and athletic opportunities for students from pre-school to college preparatory.

Copiah Academy began taking steps to achieve accreditation by the Mississippi Private School Association, an accreditation agency for segregation academics.

Although set up as a school for white students, Copiah Academy now states that it is "open to college-bound students of any race, color, creed, religion, gender, or ethnic origin". However, as of the 2013-2014 school year, the student body was 98.4% non-Hispanic White in a county where the overall percentage of non-Hispanic White people was 44.9%.

Discipline

There is a demerit system for misbehaving students, with 10 demerits leading to one detention.

For significant offenses in grades 3 through 12, Copiah Academy's policy is to administer corporal punishment (up to three "licks") "at the discretion and at the direction of the Headmaster."

Student life

Extracurricular activities available to Copiah students include student council, academic honors societies, band, dance team, cheerleading, visual arts classes and exhibits, drama and musical theater productions; and golf, tennis, baseball, fast-pitched softball, soccer, football, track and field, and other special interest teams.

Notable alumni

• Hunter Renfroe, baseball player

See also

• List of private schools in Mississippi