Canton Academy

Canton Academy, is a private school in Canton, Mississippi which was established in 1970 to preserve racial segregation in schools.

History
Canton opened in January 1970 as a segregation academy. The school's founders, officially known as the Canton Academic Foundation, were so concerned about the impact of school desegregation that they accepted white students from families for which they knew could not afford tuition. Canton Academy board president J. D. Weeks said that he "anticipat[ed] the public school system of Canton would be virtually all black". In the school's first year, all but one white high school seniors withdrew from Canton Rogers High School and enrolled in Canton Academy.

Canton Academy was initially housed in an abandoned tent factory. The curriculum was reported to be similar to public schools, but with an extra focus on the "evils of communism".

In the case Coffey v. State Educational Finance Commission (1969), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi found that "No Negro pupils would be admitted to the private school."

Sports
Canton competes in shooting sports against Jackson Preparatory School and Tri-County Academy. The school sponsors a Twenty Guns in Twenty Days raffle to support athletics.

Demographics
As of the 2019-2020 school year, the school had an enrollment of 277 in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, of whom 3 (1%) were Asian, 10 were Black (3.6%), 3 Hispanic (1 %), 233 were White (84%), and 3 (1%) were two or more races.

Notable people
Glenn Boyce, chancellor of the University of Mississippi coached football at Canton Academy. In 2019, Boyce was criticized his past affiliation with segregation academies like Canton Academy.