Madison-Ridgeland Academy (MRA, Madison-Ridgeland) is a private, co-educational school in

Madison, Mississippi Madison is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 11th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, located in Madison County, Mississippi, Madison County, north of the List of capitals in the United States, state capital, Jackson, Miss ...

, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. There are 4 divisions; the Kindergarten (K3-K5), the Elementary (1st–5th grade), the Middle School (6th–8th grade), and the High School (9th–12th).

History

MRA was housed in a

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

church for its first year as a school; the following year the school relocated to their first facility on their 25 acre campus. In 1970, MRA was one of 4 private schools accused by the NAACP of using state provided public funding for textbooks. M. A. Snowden, Executive Secretary of the State Textbook board, stated that Mississippi law requires the loaning of textbooks to all students, whether they attend public or private schools. In 2019,

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

chancellor Glenn Boyce was criticized because of his past affiliation with Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

Dress code

The school has a strict dress code that requires uniforms.

Demographics

As of 1986, the school had never enrolled a black student, although it had a nondiscrimination policy and had received several inquiries. As of 2012, 95 percent of the students were white, 2 percent were Asian and 2 percent were black. In 2019, Nicolas Rowan became the school's first African-American salutatorian.

Athletics

The school's sports programs have won multiple MAIS football championships, the most recent being in 2021. The school nickname is Patriots. Basketball coach, Richard Duease, was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. He is the winningest boys and girls high school coach in Mississippi, and the third winningest active high school basketball coach in the nation.

Notable alumni

Ruston Webster Ruston Rials Webster (born September 30, 1962) is an American football scout for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as general manager of the Tennessee Titans. During his time with the Seattle Seahawk ...

(1980), scout for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, former GM of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Tate Ellington James Tate Ellington (born April 17, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Aidan Hall, the best friend of Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) in the 2010 romantic drama film '' Remember Me''. Early life and education Ellington is from Madison, M ...

(1997), actor * Dallas Walker (2006), former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

tight end * Saahdiq Charles (2017), offensive lineman for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

* Stone Blanton (2022), linebacker for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Josh Hubbard Josh Hubbard (born December 27, 2004) is an American college basketball point guard for the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). High school career Hubbard attended Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Madison, Mississippi. ...

(2023), basketball player for the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the college athletics, athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA D ...

References

{{authority control Private K–12 schools in Mississippi Schools in Madison County, Mississippi Preparatory schools in Mississippi Private schools in the Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi Segregation academies in Mississippi Educational institutions established in 1969 1969 establishments in Mississippi