Tidewater Academy

Infobox School
name = Tidewater Academy


imagesize =
caption =
streetaddress = 217 W. Church Street
city = Wakefield
state = Virginia
zipcode = 23888
country = USA
coordinates = coord|36.971284|-76.987478|type:landmark_region:US-VA|display=inline,title
religion =
denomination =
head of school = Rodney Taylor
staff =
faculty =
teaching_staff =
ceeb = 472297
avg_class_size =
ratio =
SAT =
ACT =
schooltype =
fundingtype =
type =
grades = Preschool-12
campus =
campus size =
campus type =
conference =
motto = "Vincit veritas" ('Truth conquers')
mascot = Warrior
school_colours = Columbia blue and White colorbox|#9BDDFF colorbox|#FFFFFF
established = 1964
status =
closed =
enrollment =
footnotes =
picture =
homepage = [http://www.tidewateracademy-pvt-va.us/ Tidewater Academy]

Tidewater Academy is a private school in Wakefield, Virginia. Established in 1964, the school serves students in preschool through grade 12 and is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools.

History

In the summer of 1964, ground work was laid to organize a private segregation academy in Wakefield in opposition to the racial integration of public schools in Sussex County, Virginia. Successful efforts and plans to keep a high school in town were realized when the first Board of Directors, and administration, faculty and staff for Tidewater Academy were chosen that year. On March 24, 1964, under the provisions of Chapter 2 of Title 13.1 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, Tidewater Academy became incorporated.

As defined in 1964, the goals of Tidewater Academy were to "provide a thorough academic education with emphasis on preparation for college; to build an understanding of local cultural heritage and respect for learning; and to create in each student a sense of responsibility for effective leadership, good moral character, and an appreciation of spiritual values." In the second academic year, a lower school program was added to provide a system of twelve grades.

In the early years, classes were housed wherever space was available. Subsequently, buildings were completed by volunteers at what is now the Upper School Campus on Church Street in Wakefield. In September, 1977, an attempt to merge with Surry Academy became successful. The Surry campus, located near Dendron, Virginia, became the Tidewater Academy Lower School, with facilities for students in kindergarten through grade six. Since the completion of the new lower school building, all grades are now housed in Wakefield.

Tidewater Academy is a member school of the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. Tidewater Academy currently employs a total of 38 full and part-time faculty (14 alumni) and staff members. [http://www.tidewateracademy-pvt-va.us/home/schoolhistory.html]

Extracurricular activities

Student clubs and groups vary from year to year; student government, National Honor Society, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes are perennial groups. Through the Association of Virginia Academies, Tidewater students participate in interscholastic forensics competitions, Scholastic Bowl competitions for Upper School students and an annual field day for Lower and Middle School students. The Warrior Scholastic Bowl team, though the newest in the Association of Virginia Academies (only starting in the early 2000's) quickly became one of the most competitive. They swept the AVA in their first season, challenging the then-usual dominance of Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot and Isle of Wight Academy, and have rarely been out of the top three since their inception. Since the 2004-05 season, the Scholastic Bowl team has also competed in the Battle of the Brains, a regionally televised quiz show with versions in Hampton Roads and the Richmond area. For the last two seasons, Tidewater has been ousted early by Princess Anne High School, who has both years gone on to the Final Four of the competition. [http://www.battleofthebrains.net/weeklyResults.aspx?region=southeast] [http://www.battleofthebrains.net/tourneyResults.aspx?year=2007&region=southeast] In the 2005-06 season, TA reached the quarterfinal round before losing to conference rival and eventual Battle of the Brains runner-up and AVA champion Isle of Wight Academy. Tidewater also produced a Battle of the Brains All-Star that season in senior captain Cody Dunn. [http://www.battleofthebrains.net/tourneyResults.aspx?year=2006&region=southeast]

Athletics

Tidewater Academy fields teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, football, softball, tennis, and volleyball. The Warriors have competed in the Virginia Commonwealth Conference (VCC) since 1987 and are classified in Division III (comprised of the smallest private schools) of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association for state rankings and state tournaments. Prior to the creation of the Virginia Commonwealth Conference by merger of the Virginia Academies Athletic Conference (VAAC) and the Commonwealth Conference, Tidewater was a member of the latter. Though they have not won a state championship in any sport, the Warriors are perennially competitive in boy's basketball, having won several conference championships and made a state semifinal appearance in the 2008 postseason before losing to eventual state champion Evangel Christian. [http://tidewateracademy-pvt-va.us/athletics/tournamentresults.html] The JV boys basketball team finished with a perfect record in 2008, signifying good things to come for Warrior basketball. [http://tidewateracademy-pvt-va.us/athletics/vcctournament.html] The Lady Warrior softball team was the #1 seed in the VISAA Division III State Tournament in 2008, but lost in the championship game to softball power Isle of Wight Academyef>http://www.geocities.com/metroconf/vistourns0708/diii_sftbl08.html] Warrior teams are rarely in the basement of the VCC standings for any sport, and are widely known as a school whose size belies its competitiveness in conference play and in state tournaments. Athletic Director and boy's basketball coach Walter Westbrook is 39th in wins among active coaches in Virginia with a 263-141 record in 14 seasons at TA. [http://hrvarsity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=605]

Notable alumni

References

External links

* [http://www.tidewateracademy-pvt-va.us/ Tidewater Academy]