Jackson Jambalaya

Great, since most the the campus and the student body is in Madison County. Fantastic use of county time and dollars.

Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

"We at St. Andrews have a commitment to diversity, as long as it doesn't ... you know ... require us to actually live around black people or go to school with too many of them. But in theory, diversity, social justice ... all that shit is great. Thank you very much."

Only stokes would Question Where the school is located. And yes there are Blacks that go there. It's good to acknowledge good the good things in the county. Now when HSC and or JPS start doing good things, they should be recognized too.

Thanks for posting this, KF.

to 1:56; Probably ain't no food stamps and midicaid at St. Andrews. Thier help comes from the hand at the end of their arm, through hard work, intelligence, and perseverence. If you want "social justice" theoretically you should carry your ass to California, Detroit, or Washington, D.C. where they would have a slot waiting for you in the unemployment line.

Congratulations to St. Andrews administration, teachers, students and parents!

Yes, congratulations! SA is not only, as was recognized, a top-rated school, it is very likely the most ethnically diverse school in the metropolitan area.

@2:40, lack of black people because of no food stamps or Medicaid? Really? While you're at it, please take your own advice and go somewhere else. This State has had enough bad publicity because of people like yourself.

Only at St. Andrew's could a lowly Worldcom accounting staffer with no previous educational experience now be the Associate Head of the School.

... it is very likely the most ethnically diverse school in the metropolitan area.

If you are referring to the private schools, it isn't. Nor the public schools either.

St. Andrew's is one of our best success stories. Praises to the Headmaster, George Penick, and to his first-rate faculty, and to the many parents who are intensely active in enhancing the over-all experience at the school. Go Saints!

Congratulations to St. Andrew's!

Hard to tell which side is more vocal; the closet, unaware racists or the liberals who absolutely hate any sort of progress involving both races in a majority white setting.

But, anyway, congratulations to this school, its students, parents and administration.

Much to the chagrin of the asshole liberals and youngsters hangin' in Fondren rentals, there is no such thing as a melting pot where all things are forever equal, all brick streets are of gold and slippers are ruby.

This country will forever require excellence (like this) to remain what we are.

JA is now 10% AA.

Oh Lordy.....I meant St. Andrews! But both are conclaves of excellence.

@4:25 If JA is now 10% AA, I congratulate them on opening the doors to all people. Now they need to start participating with MHAA in all athletics with public and private school kids. Hats off to SA for always participating in public school athletics. What will make people not want their kids to play with all kids in Mississippi? I am sure they have their reason but now its time to really come to the mainstream and lets the kids play with all kids. We need one Mississippi standing together for our children.

3:44 One SA senior is returning to Japan; another is returning to Israel for a gap year (from a class of about 70). What JPS school accomplished something similar re: diversity?

3:09 Get a clue - the writer was complimenting the African-Americans who attend SA because they (and their parents) work hard for what they've achieved, as opposed to relying on food stamps, etc.

No one disputes that St. Andrews' produces great results, but the reason you have such a well-funded private school in such a small city (compare other schools on the list in places like Dallas and NYC) is because people here are a lot more likely to want to keep their kids out of public schools at any cost. I'm not making a moral judgment; just stating a fact.

So by all means be proud. But don't then turn around --as St. Andrews' constantly does-- and preach squishy "social justice" to your students, or beg for approval from the diversity police. Be honest about what you're doing: "We got ours. Screw everybody else."

JA played a public school back in 1986, before doing so was cool.

There's a party for your readership. It's gonna be at the Convention Center, looking forward to it. Here's video from last year's event: http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/v64ifb/chappelle-s-show-the-playa-hater-s-ball

5:41: You are a pre-eminent example of an offered opinion based on absolutely nothing but confoluted reasoning. Are you 10 months out of Millsaps or what?

Don't be down on Millsaps. If it wasn't for the number of fresh St. Andrews grads going there each year Millsaps would be in a bigger world of hurt than they already find themselves

St Andrews's is the only school in the nation with 2 alumni with TED conference talks. Anita Goel MD PhD, founder and CEO of Nanobiosym, talks in regards to her Gene Radar device and Eric Ford PhD, astrophysicist with Univ of Fl, speaking on his search for extraterrestrial life. Yes, the recognition is worthy and Mississippi should be proud.

Why is it the JA commenters always seem so bitter whenever St. Andrew's or Jackson Prep gets any kind of recognition?

JA may have played a public school in 1986, that's like saying "I have a black friend". JA and PREP need to get with the times. All Mississippi High School players should participate together. Lets end the segregationist MPSA aka MAIS. The private school association is so obvious.

Does anyone other than me find it ironic that the ONLY school in the area with superior performance ratings is just slightly in Jackson and not part of the Jackson Public School system?

@ 5:12: Schools in Mississippi don't have the option of 'deciding' which types of other schools they will engage in athletic competition. Those decisions are made by such organizations as MHSAA. But, even if they did, this is a conversation about educational excellence, not who has the most meatheads to line up on a ball field.

10:46. Perhaps you should catch up with the times. The MAIS and MHSAA allow interassociation play and "JA and Prep" play public schools in every sport available.

As for your assertion that there be one association for athletics, that would not be fair to public schools unless one uses a class modifier for private schools, and then that's arbitrary. So what's the point?

Congrats SA

It's the MSHAA that blocks competition between public and private schools. It started in the 1990s over, if you can believe it, drama competitions. The debate/drama coach at Hattiesburg High School, Michael Marks, lost too many competitions to the kids at Prep. So he petitioned the MSHAA in 1994/1995 to require that all public school invitationals and competitons in which the MSHAA had ANY say-so refuse entry to private schools that failed to meet certain criteria (minority enrollment, academic offerings, types of extracurricular activities available, etc.) from competing. Many public schools were opposed to the change, as they hosted various athetlic and academic competitions that were real money-makers for them, and a LOT of that money came from private school entry fees.

The rule also prohibited public schools from sending students to any competitions hosted by private schools that failed to meet the criteria.

After the rule passed, many public schools had to shut down competitons and tournaments of various types because there simply weren't enough public schools participating anymore.

But Michael Marks started winning drama competitions again. And then became the head of MAE.

Most MAIS schools are integrated and they play public schools. The only reason the MAIS and the MHSAA have not merged are the disputes about districts and recruiting and such. MHSAA schools claim its not fair that they are restricted by school district lines, but private schools can recruit more broadly. Other than that dispute, they two would have been combined 5 years ago.

8:40 is right. I was one of those Prep kids...

hard work, intelligence, and perseverence.....you left out inheritance which is how many St. Andrews families can swing the tuition.

11:12 ~ Or you might substitute the phrase 'credit worthiness' for inheritance. When my kids were in private school I couldn't pour piss out of a boot financially, but had damned good credit. Same with college. Anybody who really gives a hoot about their kids' education and has two ounces of personal drive and six of responsibility can make it happen.

I'm with Burke above, so, yes, ditto what he says in admiration of George Penick. I am impressed anew each day by the quality of education that St. Andrew's continues to provide, In a state with so many negatives, what a huge, thumpin', resoundin' positive this school is! Think about it: without a school of this calibre, how many professionals would either leave the state to find a better place to educate their children, or ship 'em off to out-of-state schools?

Those who cavil about the tuition, and the stratum of the population who can afford it, are missing the point by a wide margin.

Having personally known a few couples who made great sacrifices, or borrowed money, to acquire a St. Andrew's degree for their children, and having sent my own offspring there, I can tell you: without St. Andrew's, our metro area would be an even poorer place.

GO SAINTS!!!!!

Oh, and a postscript: to the commentor who sneered about the school's Madison County location: FYI, the Lower School is in Hinds County, right there on Old Canton Road.

TED Talks. The white man's substitute for real education. If I had a nickel for every punk who felt he was an expert on a subject because he watched a TED Talk then I'd have more than a few bucks to my name.

There is nothing more tedious than listening to some guy drone on about gene splicing or nanotechnology after he has reviewed the latest TED offering.

So, all you graduates of Prep or JA who have gone on to success in your careers, be it seats on the Chicago Board of Trade or Chief of Residency at Duke University or writing best selling novels, screw you, because you never gave a TED Talk. That's what really matters!

8:40, I can't believe I'm arguing about 1990's high school debate, but I'm afraid you're wrong.

Hattiesburg never finished anything but first at any Mississippi tournament in speech and debate in the 1990's. I know because our team (Byram) always placed second behind them. Schools like Brookhaven took over when BHS closed.

Prep was a solid enough team, but they were never competitive for overall team awards. They had some good individual competitors, but no one who ever did anything at nationals (unlike a half dozen MHSAA schools). Maybe Marks didn't like them, but he had absolutely nothing to fear from them or anyone else.

You're also wrong about "shutting down various competitions." It just didn't happen. Speech and debate in Mississippi has grown steadily in size and caliber since the early 90's, both before and after they allowed MPSA schools to return to tournaments. Today, I believe there is just one MPSA team (Prep) that regularly competes.

If you want to check debate credentials (again, so bizarre to be flashing my nerd cred here) my name is Brett Harvey.

Brett, speech and debate tournaments are different from the state drama competition, which is where Marks kept losing -- see post. And the policy issues of competition btw public and private schools, be they athletic, academic, or "nerd," started with his hissy fit in the mid-90's.

Yes JA and PREP play "other" schools. Yes, they will play one or two during the year. I guess it makes them feel better about WHY they joined the MAIS. The MAIS is the old Mississippi Private School Association. An offspring of the CCC. The public school association is a lot more inclusive. As a matter of fact, Saint Andrews has always identified itself as Independent but participates in the public school athletic association. Now, all of a sudden the new MAIS (really the private school segregationist) are using the "independent school" moniker. I cant believe Mississippians in 2013 are taking up for the MAIS. We all know who they are and what they stand for. We all know how it all got started. One Mississippi!

3:47 -- I see. A lot of people refer to forensics as some combination of "debate and drama," but I get that you're talking about something different -- i.e., actual theater competitions. The whole thing was just a sorry affair, and it's good that Prep is back in the fold.

Compare the year St A was founded to the years Prep and JA were founded before you utter dumbassery about how St A exists to avoid black people.

By a good margin the most diverse private school in the metro is St. Joe's. This was discussed at length on this website earlier in 2013.

St. Andrews produces great test takers

What is diversity suppose to be a measurement of?

7:36, St. Andrew's produces great students, period. So do other public and private schools in the metro Jackson area. Stop downing another school to make yourself feel better about wherever it is your kids happen to be.

8:56 must not have attended SA or that one would not have so clearly gone over their head

Diversity and excellence have no intertwining relationship, no correlation. If a school which produces excellent 'products' happens, upon examination, to have a diverse (I guess racially) population, fine. If not, fine.

No school should sacrifice a search for excellence to diversity in order to please statisticians and liberals.

We have plenty of experience spotliting the social experiment of forced diversity in public schools, places of employment, membership organizations, housing, banking and the 'fly me to the moon' program.

It's disheartening to be considering educational excellence and hear the sickening chants of 'oh, yeah, but are they diverse?'

8:56 is right, and a gracious person. Many students from several schools have done extremely well in college or later careers. As a group, though, SA students have done well enough to earn national recognition.

For the whiners who can't hide their jealousy that some people have more money then them, I'll point out that SA is the least expensive school of the 20 on that national Top 20 list. Doing more with less is actually an admirable trait in some people's view.

SA's national ranking has noting to do with their athletic program - please take that commentary to an appropriate thread.

@8:06, If you take athletics out of the equation, you may not have those lofty rankings. SA benefits a great deal from athletics, I think they boast that 65% of the kids play a varsity sport. So we cant diminish the fact that for 12 or so years they have finished as the number one sports program in the state of Mississippi on the 3A level. Too bad Prep and JA cant say that, too busy beating up on smaller "academies" (code word for segregationist), then playing each other calling it a state championship.lol.

"Diversity" has flat lost whatever meaning it originally had in the dictionary. It's become---well---meaningless. Unless the new definition is "group hug"?

3:17 Prep has done quite well playing public schools. The first time they played mighty Pearl, the score was 35 zip at the half. check the records. Most public schools don't want to play JA or Prep. Know of what you speak.

JA is 11% minorities.

@7:50, You sound like Chokwe Lumumba and the Republic of New Africa. He would make the same assertions. "We don't need them, Lets not taint our gene pool, We are better than them, integration was a bad thing, yada yada ya. Albeit more eloquently, you are saying the same thing. Time for your ilk to move on. We all benefit from a more diverse community. Different viewpoints, cultures, opinions, etc. made the US the biggest player in the game. Diversity surely didn't taint SA, there are plenty of blacks, Asians, whites, Indians, and Hispanics over there.

Yeah right 4:31. Diversity is a strength. Go sell that bullshit elsewhere.

3:17, St. A's has not been a 3A school for 12 years, so you are off on your facts. but more importantly, you are off on the whole point of your post. Whatever your beef is with the MAIS and its history (and I agree there is a reason to have a beef with MAIS for that reason), there is no doubt that there are many fine student athletes and teams that participate in that league. In addition, MAIS teams play MHSAA teams in many sports. So, if the point is to compare athletic prowess based on which league the school is in, you're off base.

Hey 4:31 riddle me this: If the Constitution was written in 1776 by the diverse America of TODAY, do you think these "diverse" peoples (Muslim, Black, Jewish, Asian, yada yada) would have the incredible document that these "angry white old men" produced then?

4:50, diversity is a strength to many people when they are deciding where to send their kids to school. The world is diverse, why wouldn't you want to prepare your kids to deal with all types of people in life? The world is full of interesting people and experiences that are all different, and I think it's great to expose your kids to that.

I do agree with 7:50's limited point that academic excellence should not be sacrificed to the mantra of diversity, but if you can have both academic excellence and diversity, why wouldn't you want that for your kids? I don't think anyone has suggested that St. Andrew's has somehow dumbed down their school for purposes of diversity. This recognition would certainly indicate they have not.

And by diversity, I mean simply that everyone is not a cookie cutter kid. Diversity can be many things - race, religion, geographic background, socio-economic, different viewpoints, different interests, etc. It always amazes me that any discussion of diversity automatically turns into a black-white argument. Maybe that's because people around here haven't been exposed to enough diversity in life . . .

@5:07 whether 2A or 3A, SA has won the all sports award for a record number of years. We all know that MHSAA changed the classification system a couple of years ago. So SA moved up, it didn't stop the domination. Just like they have had more presidential scholars than all schools combined. The point is not to compare athletic prowess, quite frankly there is no comparison. Prep and JA has many fine student athletes and many fine people associated with both schools. My point is that those fine kids should be in a league with all the kids of Mississippi. Whats wrong with PREP and JA joining MHSAA? We know that the kids want to play each other more often. Look deeper, why didn't they initially join MHSAA when started? Come on guys, its time to get with the program. One athletic league for all kids, whats wrong with that?

@4:50, you aren't going to like heaven, because everybody is up there.lol.

OK, 5:34, we get it. You like white people the best.

@4:31 that incredible document has been changed almost 30 times because it had flaws.I cant call them "angry white old men" because they loved all kinds of women. Also, you need to do some research and find out where they obtained all of the information to produce this great document. You will find out that they got just about all of it from different "peoples" of the world. One of the big contributors was the Native Americans which you just ironically left out. Please go read.

5:47, it's 5:07 again. Yes, I agree it is a shame all kids don't compete in the same league. It would be interesting to know from Prep and JA folks why they are still members of MAIS and if they agree with that decision. I do not consider either of those schools current day seg academies at all, yet it is my impression that is what the overwhelming majority of MAIS is. Do they give implicit support for that by remaining in the league? I do know a lot of Prep and JA athletes would like to compete in MHSAA, because they feel it would give them more credibility.

Maybe Kingfish can start a separate post on that topic.

Hey snowflake at 5:50. Answer the GD question dodger. I am black as the ace of spades and I know the answer. Do YOU?

Answer 5:34 question. ANSWER IT. Racist reverse mo fo.l

9:42

How often do you beat your wife?

Know what a loaded question is?

The question seems logical to me. Why won't anyone answer it? Is the obvious answer too painful?

The cruel and angry comments on this site breaks my heart because it speaks more about the people making these comments rather than proving a point.

The commendation of St. Andrew's on this list is a really big deal. We should all be proud that a Mississippi school was recognized in a country where the majority thinks that everyone from Mississippi is illiterate. SA was #18 on this list...out of 50! The Sidwell School, where President Obama's girls attend was #44. That should tell you something. The schools on this list are the Harvards and Princetons of private day schools. Here is the link to the article and list for those who care to even look: http://www.thebestschools.org/blog/2013/04/30/50-private-day-schools-united-states/

St. Andrew's sits among the elite schools in this country on this list. Aside from the Nashville School in Tennessee, they are the only school in the southeast to be named and they are substantially less expensive compared to the other schools on this list.

This isn't about sports, and it isn't about white people keeping their kids out of public schools. It's about parents seeking the best education for their children. Many scrimp and cut corners to send their children here to give them an advantage. The student body is extremely diverse...in fact the principal of the lower school (located in Hinds County) is African American. Many parents send their children here for the pro-diversity that exists. And take a peak at the Malone Scholar's Program. Or, better yet, ask a Malone Scholar about their experience. These are granted to worthy students who excel and deserve these spots, regardless of race.

St. Andrew's sets the academic standard. You can't just attend because you can pay the tuition. You have to be able to compete academically. Unfortunately, many students can't maintain at the level St. Andrew's sets and parents are forced to send their children to other schools. We should be proud that there is a school in our state that does this. All of our schools, private and public should follow their footsteps and worry about academic excellence.

I don't know why everything has to be turned into a racial issue...this is about a good school receiving the kudos they deserve and we should all be proud, no matter your race or your school affiliation. It only makes Mississippi look good.

Guys, look. You're never going to get working class people to stand up and cheer for St. Andrews. St. Andrews is great, but it emphatically IS NOT something "all Mississippians can be proud of," any more than the skyboxes at Vaught-Hemmingway are something all Ole Miss fans can enjoy.

St. Andrews is primarily a place for rich people, so their kids can get a great education without having to worry about balancing the needs of poor people.

I agree that all this class hatred isn't healthy, but given the economic history of this country over the last 20 years, it is at least understandable. So show some class and quit demanding that people scraping by on a fifth of what you make give you a round of applause. Take your award, hang it on the wall, and shut the hell up.

Thank you 10:20 for reinforcing my earlier comments (July 18 at 8:06).

Judging by the uninformed comments on this post many readers must think the Sidwell School is a segregationist academy with outstanding athletics.

The uninformed joker who claims SA's outstanding athletic legacy contributed to their ranking should let us know just how many Division I programs have offered athletic scholarships to SA grads in the past 10 years. Those of us who know the answer realize athletics have nothing to do with their national ranking. (Here's a starter: Penn gave one to Blackmon (football at SA) and Cornell offered one to Prater this year (declined in favor of Miss State, where he expects more playing time). There's also reportedly a football player from SA at Princeton, but he may have been a walk-on.

I graduated from St. Andrew's in the late 90's. To provide exact facts about the diversity of St. A I pulled out my year book and counted:
Our graduating class totaled 44 students: 2 from Japan, 1 first generation American from China, 3 first generation from India, 1 born in Pakistan, 6 African Americans, and 4 of us from South Jackson.

Yes, there were the uber-rich families (and still are) but the majority of our class was middle class families--most with both parents working to afford to send their kids to St. A. My sister also went to St. A and my parents worked and lived frugally to send us there. They sent 2 kids to St. A on a combined income which averaged around $75-80,000. So @11:25 I would consider my parents to be the "working class" to whom you referred. And (for-lack-of-a-better-description) I certainly was not the "poorest" of my class. Many families sacrifice more than you can imagine to send their children to St. Andrews for a variety of reasons.

I just want to thank Brett Harvey for reminding me of some of the best days of Speech & Debate...the era of Brett at Hattiesburg, Clarence Webster at Clinton, Andrew Chatham/Gy Odom (and a little later on Lucien Smith) at St. Andrew's. I'm encouraged that smart minds and brilliant orators such as Brett, Clarence, and Lucien are back in Mississippi contributing their talents. (I'll excuse Andrew since he's off creating cars which drive themselves for Google.) Now if we can just convince Nic Lott to run for office...

To 2:14...thank you for your post. To further support this position, here is the current profile of the school (from their website):

Student Body Profile:

Male:Female Ratio is 48.2:51.8
Episcopal Enrollment is 26.3% of all students
The Class of 2013 has 43% students who are Alpha Omega (students continuously enrolled from 1st through 12th grade)
Students of color account for 25.7% of our population, with an additional 2.5% of students who did not report ethnicity
Caucasian - 71.8%
African American - 12.6%
Asian - 7.8%
Asian Indian - 1.7%
Other - 0.2%
Multi-racial - 4.2%
Hispanic American - 0.6%
Middle Eastern - 0.3%
No response - 2.5%

I guess ignorance is bliss for some people. It is sad that some people can't delve past the surface of what they assume something to be. If they did, they would learn that many SA students are on scholarship or receive financial aid to be there. Yes, there are people like me that can afford to send my child there, but she is also friends with classmates whose parents cannot. Two of my daughter's friends are financial aid children who have hardworking single parent moms (neither of whom makes a substantial income, they are "working class"). So, to say, "St. Andrews is primarily a place for rich people, so their kids can get a great education without having to worry about balancing the needs of poor people." makes me sad. Anyone who says differently is judging a book by their perceived "cover" and not taking the time to truly understand.

The school puts their racial makeup out there for all to see and advertises on TV for scholarship students to apply.

Saint Joseph is so much better.