Kirk Academy is a K-12 Christian school in

Grenada, Mississippi Grenada () is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1836, the population was 13,092 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County, Mississippi, Gre ...

. It is part of the

Mississippi Association of Independent Schools The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for i ...

(MAIS). In 1966, when the public schools in Grenada County were integrated, some of the most violent acts of the civil rights movement ensued. For five months, violent White mobs congregated outside the schools to forcibly prevent African American students from entering. Kirk Academy was founded in 1966 in response to integration of the public schools and has been described 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 Racial segregation in the United States, desegregated public schools. They ...

. As of 2018, all but 11 of the school's 385 students were white. According to the school's website, it was founded in 1966 and named for W.H. Kirk, who donated thirty acres of land for the school. It expanded to a 65-acre campus that includes a

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

and elementary building, high school building, the A.R. Smithers Library, a gymnasium, two practice football fields, a football stadium, softball complex, baseball complex, soccer complex, and an outdoor classroom with nature trail. Randy Poss was headmaster for five years until April 2018.

Sports

The Raiderettes were Mississippi-Louisiana state champions in basketball in 1976. In 2018 the Raiderettes were again AAA MAIS champions with coach Amy Denley. The Raiders were football champions in 1997. North State football champions in 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008, 2021, and 2023.

Alumni

Donna Tartt Donna Louise Tartt (born December 23, 1963) is an American novelist. She wrote the novels '' The Secret History'' (1992), '' The Little Friend'' (2002), and ''The Goldfinch'' (2013), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted into ...

- Novelist.

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in Mississippi Private K–12 schools in Mississippi Christian schools in Mississippi Education in Grenada County, Mississippi Segregation academies in Mississippi