Cape Fear Academy is a private, coeducational PK3–12 school in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

that was established on September 11, 1967 as a

segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

. It was named for Cape Fear Military Academy, an independent school for boys in Wilmington that operated from 1868 until 1916. The present school's first class graduated in 1971.

History

Cape Fear Academy Athletics Confederate Rebels

The school was founded as a

in response to the court ordered integration of public schools. In 1967, the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

activist Lee Shelton claimed that Ku Klux Klan was raising funds to establish Cape Fear Academy as a private school for white students. In 2005, the student body voted to change the school's athletics team name from '' The Rebels'' to ''The Hurricanes''. In 2021, Cape Fear Academy was sued by a student who alleged that CFA expelled her after she protested the school's failure to take action after she was sexually assaulted and then harassed by three male students, in violation of

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

. The school argued that, since it never accepted federal funding, it was not subject to any federal non-discrimination laws. In June 2022, Judge James C. Dever ruled that since CFA had accepted loans under the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARE ...

, the school was obliged to comply with federal civil rights laws. The lawsuit led to renewed media attention concerning Cape Fear Academy's history of racial and gender discrimination.

Facilities

There is one Pre-kindergarten class (ages 3.5 to 5), along with Kindergarten through Grade 5, Middle School (grades 6–8) and Upper School classes (grades 9–12). The school is situated on a campus. Facilities include two classroom buildings, a gymnasium with six classrooms, and the Beane-Wright Student Center, and multiple athletic fields and a tennis facility. Additionally, athletic fields, including the John B. Meehl Field House are located across from the campus entrance on College Road on a tract. In 2022, school purchased an plot of land originally owned by Trinity United Methodist Church.

Accreditation

Cape Fear Academy is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and also by the

Southern Association of Independent Schools {{Cleanup-spam, date=April 2011 The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) is a U.S.-based voluntary organization of more than 380 independent elementary and secondary schools through the South, representing more than 220,000 students ...

. The school is also an active member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boa ...

, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, the

Educational Records Bureau Educational Records Bureau (ERB) is an educational services Non-profit Organization that offers assessments for both admission and achievement for independent and selective public schools for Pre K-grade 12. ERB was founded in 1927, and is h ...

, the Independent School Management Consortium, and the

College Entrance Examination Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

. Cape Fear Academy offers affordability plans for tuition; a majority of the awards go to students in the Middle and Upper School.

Student activities

Starting in seventh grade, students can play sports; 80% of students in the Upper School participate in at least one sport. Some notable athletics activities in the school are soccer, volleyball, tennis, basketball, and lacrosse. The school houses many clubs like

Beta Club The National Beta Club (often called "Beta Club" or simply "Beta") is an organization for 4th through 12th grade students in the United States. Its purpose is "to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, leadership and service among ...

National History Day National History Day is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland that operates an annual project-based contest for students in grades 6-12. It has affiliates in all fifty states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Sam ...

, YMCA's

Youth and Government YMCA Youth and Government (YaG), also known as Youth In Government, or Model Legislature and Court, is a program of the YMCA of the USA that allows high school students to serve in model governments at the local, state, national, and internationa ...

, and National Honor Society. The school also has a theater program that produces many different genres of plays from Musicals to

Dramas Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been c ...

. Along with the stage on the campus, the school is the only school high school allowed to perform at

Thalian Hall Thalian Hall is a historic city hall and theatre located at Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina. It was built in 1858, and is a two-story, five bay, stuccoed brick building with a combination of restrained Classical Revival and flamboya ...

in Wilmington. The Upper School has a student-government association with a branch called the Honor Council that deals with and makes recommendations for disciplinary infractions.

Notable alumni

* Patrick Ballantine North Carolina state senator and gubernatorial candidate *

Maddie Hasson Madelaine Hasson (born January 4, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Willa Monday on Fox's television series ''The Finder''. She also co-starred in the ABC Family series '' Twisted''. She starred in the YouTube Premium s ...

actress on ABC Family's '' Twisted'' * Reginald Shuford ACLU attorney, first black student to graduate

References

External links

Cape Fear Academy Alumni
{{authority control Schools in Wilmington, North Carolina Private high schools in North Carolina Private middle schools in North Carolina Private elementary schools in North Carolina Segregation academies in North Carolina Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina 1968 establishments in North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1968