Southland Academy
Encyclopedia
Southland Academy is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian Christian college preparatory day school
in Americus, Georgia
, United States
, with over 600 students in grades K through 12, covering ages 4 through 19.
Established in 1967, the school is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
and the Georgia Accrediting Association, and is a member of the Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA).
The first classes began in the old Anthony School building on Anthony Drive. In 1970, Southland moved to its current location at 123 Southland Road.
The campus comprises 55 acres (222,577.3 m²). The main buildings are a 4K building and a 5K building, elementary, junior high and high school buildings, the Charles F. Crisp Media and Technology Center, the Jane L. Comer Music Room, the Melvin T. Kinslow gymnatorium, a lower-school gymnasium, an Academic Center and a cafeteria. The two-story gymnatorium, now renovated, has a performance stage as well as a new lobby area.
There are also playgrounds, tennis courts, a baseball field, two softball fields, a football stadium, and a practice area for football and soccer. In addition to 51 classrooms, there is a chemistry lab, a biology lab, three computer labs, and two art rooms.
Southland Academy was originally founded as a private school in response to the desegregation of Georgia
in the 1960s. It was reported in 1979 that most white parents in the area sent their children to Southland rather than the local public school system, which at the time was 80% black and the subject of boycotts and criticism over alleged neglect and underfunding.
However, the removal of religion from public schools prompted Southland to reinvent itself as a Christian school that states that it prides itself on academic excellence and religious values.
The school states that it does not discriminate on racial or ethnic grounds. However, its student racial demographics
do not reflect the ethnic makeup of the town of Americus
. Americus is 39.1% White
and 58.3% African American
according to the 2000 Census
. Southland Academy has a student population consisting of 1% African American students, 1% Hispanic students, 2% American Indian students, and 96% Caucasian students (2006 figures).
Melvin T. Kinslow, the school's headmaster from 1971 to 1996, in May 2008 attacked suggestions in the local press that Southland is in any way a "segregated" school, noting that it "has a very diverse population with students attending or having attended from Korea, India, China, Germany and France. ... Southland has black students who have graduated, and others who will graduate in the near future".
Annual tuition
rates range from $3,204 for 4K to $4,536 for grades 6-12. This includes instruction, textbooks (to be returned at the end of each course), school pictures, admission to campus sports events, PTO membership, activity and lab fees.
, baseball
, softball
, basketball
, wrestling
, cross-country running, track and field
, golf
, swimming
, tennis
, girls' soccer, Raiderettes (the dance
team), and cheerleading
. Male teams are called the Southland Raiders; female teams are the Lady Raiders.
Class AAA State Championships:
For the first time in five years, Southland Academy's golf team is the 3-AAA region champion (2009).
A tradition at the school is the annual pageant at which the Miss Southland Academy Raider, better known as Miss SAR, is crowned. The pageant was started in 1989 by "Mothers of Motivated Students", now part of Southland's parent-teacher organization. Its purpose is to generate funds for the Thomas A. Greene Scholarship Fund, which helps Southland students in financial need. Funds also go to the new Madeline Anne Wildes Scholarship Fund.
All students must sign the Southland Academy Honor Code against cheating, lying, stealing and plagiarism.
Southland Academy's discipline policy allows corporal punishment by means of paddling
for all boys and young men up to and including grade 12, and girls up to and including grade 5. Either the Headmaster or the Assistant Headmaster is present at all paddlings. The school reserves the right to administer corporal punishment as a first line of punishment for acts of misconduct. In appropriate cases, parents may be notified afterwards. The contract to be signed before admission requires all parents to consent to this policy.
Other discipline management techniques include after-school detention and Saturday work detail. For serious infractions, the student may be suspended (in-school or out-of-school).
Southland Academy requires students to follow a strict dress code. Random drug testing is carried out on all students in grades 8 through 12.
Academic groups: National Beta Club
, Math Team, Literary Team, One-Act Play, Student Government, and Debate Team.
Music groups: Marching Band
and One Voice (choir
).
Religious clubs: Fellowship of Christian Athletes
and Young People's Christian Organization.
Community Service clubs: Students Against Destructive Decisions, Garden Club, Student Government, Key Club
, Civinettes
Subject Area clubs: Art Club, Science Club, Foreign Language Club
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
in Americus, Georgia
Americus, Georgia
-Early years:Americus, Georgia was named and chartered by Sen. Lovett B. Smith in 1832.For its first two decades, Americus was a small courthouse town. The arrival of the railroad in 1854 and, three decades later, local attorney Samuel H. Hawkins' construction of the only privately financed...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with over 600 students in grades K through 12, covering ages 4 through 19.
Established in 1967, the school is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
and the Georgia Accrediting Association, and is a member of the Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA).
The first classes began in the old Anthony School building on Anthony Drive. In 1970, Southland moved to its current location at 123 Southland Road.
The campus comprises 55 acres (222,577.3 m²). The main buildings are a 4K building and a 5K building, elementary, junior high and high school buildings, the Charles F. Crisp Media and Technology Center, the Jane L. Comer Music Room, the Melvin T. Kinslow gymnatorium, a lower-school gymnasium, an Academic Center and a cafeteria. The two-story gymnatorium, now renovated, has a performance stage as well as a new lobby area.
There are also playgrounds, tennis courts, a baseball field, two softball fields, a football stadium, and a practice area for football and soccer. In addition to 51 classrooms, there is a chemistry lab, a biology lab, three computer labs, and two art rooms.
Admissions
Admission to Southland Academy is by application only. Applicants must take an entrance examination and submit a transcript and discipline record from the school(s) previously attended. Additionally, admission is based on an interview with the parents and the student.Southland Academy was originally founded as a private school in response to the desegregation of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in the 1960s. It was reported in 1979 that most white parents in the area sent their children to Southland rather than the local public school system, which at the time was 80% black and the subject of boycotts and criticism over alleged neglect and underfunding.
However, the removal of religion from public schools prompted Southland to reinvent itself as a Christian school that states that it prides itself on academic excellence and religious values.
The school states that it does not discriminate on racial or ethnic grounds. However, its student racial demographics
Racial demographics of the United States
The United States is a diverse country, racially and ethnically. Six races are recognized: White, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and people of two or more races; a race called "Some other race" is also used in the...
do not reflect the ethnic makeup of the town of Americus
Americus, Georgia
-Early years:Americus, Georgia was named and chartered by Sen. Lovett B. Smith in 1832.For its first two decades, Americus was a small courthouse town. The arrival of the railroad in 1854 and, three decades later, local attorney Samuel H. Hawkins' construction of the only privately financed...
. Americus is 39.1% White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and 58.3% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
according to the 2000 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. Southland Academy has a student population consisting of 1% African American students, 1% Hispanic students, 2% American Indian students, and 96% Caucasian students (2006 figures).
Melvin T. Kinslow, the school's headmaster from 1971 to 1996, in May 2008 attacked suggestions in the local press that Southland is in any way a "segregated" school, noting that it "has a very diverse population with students attending or having attended from Korea, India, China, Germany and France. ... Southland has black students who have graduated, and others who will graduate in the near future".
Annual tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
rates range from $3,204 for 4K to $4,536 for grades 6-12. This includes instruction, textbooks (to be returned at the end of each course), school pictures, admission to campus sports events, PTO membership, activity and lab fees.
Athletics
Southland Academy has an active athletic program in the GISA in the AAA region. Sports include footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, cross-country running, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, girls' soccer, Raiderettes (the dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
team), and cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
. Male teams are called the Southland Raiders; female teams are the Lady Raiders.
Class AAA State Championships:
Football: 1986-1987, 1991-1993
Baseball: 1982-1983, 1989-1991, 1994-1995, 2003-2004
Golf: 1980-1988, 1991-1992, 1993-1995, 1997-1998
Boys' Basketball: 1973-1974, 1975-1977, 1982-1983
Boys' Tennis: 1980-1982, 1982-1984
Boys' Track and Field: 1975-1977, 1980-1984, 1991-1992
Softball: 1976-1977, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2006-2007
Girls' Basketball: 1979-1980, 1985-1986
Girls' Swimming: 1998-1999
Girls' Track: 1971-1972, 1975-1980, 1989-1990
Wrestling: 2001-2002
For the first time in five years, Southland Academy's golf team is the 3-AAA region champion (2009).
Ethos, customs, discipline
The school states that it aims to provide students with a Christian atmosphere conducive to learning and good citizenship. Activities are said to be designed to enable the student to analyze problems, perform before his peers, and achieve distinction as an individual. Outside the classroom, opportunities are offered in club work, athletics, music, and oratory so as to provide a well-rounded and complete education, according to the school's handbook.A tradition at the school is the annual pageant at which the Miss Southland Academy Raider, better known as Miss SAR, is crowned. The pageant was started in 1989 by "Mothers of Motivated Students", now part of Southland's parent-teacher organization. Its purpose is to generate funds for the Thomas A. Greene Scholarship Fund, which helps Southland students in financial need. Funds also go to the new Madeline Anne Wildes Scholarship Fund.
All students must sign the Southland Academy Honor Code against cheating, lying, stealing and plagiarism.
Southland Academy's discipline policy allows corporal punishment by means of paddling
Paddle (spanking)
A spanking paddle is an implement used to strike a person on the buttocks. The act of striking a person with a paddle is known as "paddling". A paddling may be for punishment , or as an initiation or hazing ritual, or for erotic purposes.A paddle has two parts: a handle and a blade...
for all boys and young men up to and including grade 12, and girls up to and including grade 5. Either the Headmaster or the Assistant Headmaster is present at all paddlings. The school reserves the right to administer corporal punishment as a first line of punishment for acts of misconduct. In appropriate cases, parents may be notified afterwards. The contract to be signed before admission requires all parents to consent to this policy.
Other discipline management techniques include after-school detention and Saturday work detail. For serious infractions, the student may be suspended (in-school or out-of-school).
Southland Academy requires students to follow a strict dress code. Random drug testing is carried out on all students in grades 8 through 12.
Activities
Southland Academy also has various clubs and organizations. Each is sponsored by a teacher or staff member.Academic groups: National Beta Club
National Beta Club
The National Beta Club is an organization for 5th-12th graders in the United States, recognizing academic achievement, leadership, character and service....
, Math Team, Literary Team, One-Act Play, Student Government, and Debate Team.
Music groups: Marching Band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
and One Voice (choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
).
Religious clubs: Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...
and Young People's Christian Organization.
Community Service clubs: Students Against Destructive Decisions, Garden Club, Student Government, Key Club
Key Club
Key Club International is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs...
, Civinettes
Subject Area clubs: Art Club, Science Club, Foreign Language Club