More than anything else, Jackson Prep is a school that passionately pursues academic excellence…it is what we do best. With your first step on our campus, you will sense something different about Jackson Prep. Our students demonstrate it. Our parents support it. Our faculty and staff instill it. Our alumni testify to it. It is an expectation of excellence in all that we do. Over the years, this expectation has developed into a tradition unmatched by any other school in the state.
Jackson Prep is unique in that students come from elementary and junior high schools throughout the greater Jackson area. When you consider the variety of individuals who compose Jackson Prep, it is not surprising that our students’ talents and intellectual strengths are as diverse as their personalities. Because we are a community of learners, we value the academic abilities of each student, and we focus all of our resources to nurture each one’s special interests.
We invite you to learn more about Jackson Prep. No matter which elementary or junior high school your child has attended, when it comes to preparation for college, Jackson Prep sets the standard for secondary school excellence (grades 6-12). After all, “preparatory” is in our name...it is what we do best!
MISSION STATEMENT
Jackson Preparatory School inspires and challenges students toward academic, athletic and artistic excellence, instills personal integrity through biblical values, and equips students to pursue lives of distinction in service to society.
SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
Jackson Preparatory School seeks to provide excellence in education in an atmosphere conducive to the intellectual, cultural, social, spiritual, and physical development of its students. The school recognizes the needs of our times and accepts the challenge to develop each student's potential to the greatest extent possible.
Jackson Preparatory School strives to be a school where learning and character are nourished; where teachers and students are valued as individuals; where differences are respected and talents are nurtured; where success and honest effort are recognized and failures become instructive; where judgments are tempered with compassion and achievements with humility; where privilege accepts responsibility; where education is not an end in itself but a means to the individual's fulfillment as a contributing member of the world community.
STATEMENT OF DIVERSITY
Respect and understanding of differences are necessary parts of preparation for life in today's complex world. To achieve the broader educational goal of preparing students to participate in the world community, Prep is committed to diversity in race, color and national origin in the student body, faculty and programs.
PROFILE
Specializing in secondary education since 1970, Jackson Preparatory School (Prep) has produced 525 National Merit semifinalists, including 8 from the class of 2011. Statewide, Prep is one of four schools selected for a cum laude chapter, the high school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa. Students consistently win regional and national awards in language, literature, art, mathematics, science, music, and drama. In athletics, Prep teams remain among the leaders of the conference in overall championships.
Jackson Preparatory School is an independent, co-educational, and college preparatory day school enrolling 805 students in grades six through twelve. The school is located on a 74-acre campus east of Jackson and is the largest independent secondary school in the state of Mississippi. The student body is diverse, representing various racial, ethnic, economic, and religious groups.
FACULTY
The Prep faculty/staff is comprised of 86 dedicated and experienced professionals, including 46 with post-graduate degrees. Eight faculty members hold doctoral degrees. The average class size is 17 students.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
In recent years, Prep students have earned many scholarships and awards including the Presidential Scholars Award, Principal’s Leadership Scholarship, Robert Byrd Scholarship, Intel Talent Search Scholarship, National Merit Corporation Scholarship, Coca-Cola Scholarship, and numerous academic and leadership awards from individual colleges and universities. Members of the Class of 2011 were offered scholarships totaling $8.3 million and accepted $3.0 million in merit-based scholarships. Prep teams routinely win quiz bowl matches, math and science tournaments, literary contests, mock trial competitions, debate tournaments, and many other academic competitions.
STUDENT LIFE
Prep students have many opportunities to develop physically, socially, and emotionally through participation in a variety of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The student government association, debate team, student publications, service clubs, academic honorary societies, band, choir, spirit teams, visual arts classes and exhibits, drama and musical theater productions, and special interest clubs are representative examples of the co-curricular activities available to students.
Prep enjoys statewide and regional recognition for its competitive athletic programs. Varsity teams compete in Class AAA of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools. Prep also competes against schools from outside this association and from other states and regions. Prep teams have won championships in football, basketball, baseball, track, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and golf. Since 1970, over 200 Prep graduates have participated in collegiate athletics.
FACILITIES
Jackson Prep's campus is home to an impressive complex of flexible educational facilities. The Junior High and Senior High buildings each include academic classrooms, science labs, and computer centers with Internet-connected workstations. A world languages lab is located in the Senior High building. The new Guyton Science Center houses six state-of-the-art science classrooms with laboratories and the Lyceum, a 200-seat lecture/meeting facility. Division administrators and counselors are located in both the senior high and junior high.
The creative heart of the campus is the McRae Fine Arts and Media Center, which houses three art studios, a ceramics studio, band hall, choir room, and art gallery. The McRae Center is also home to the Jesse Howell Library, administrative and development offices, and the office of admission. The second floor houses two sixth grade classrooms and the business and technology offices.
The Fortenberry Auditorium and Gymnasium, along with the J.O. Manning Patriot Center, provide athletic venues, a performing arts complex, dressing rooms, weight rooms, coaches’ offices, and laundry facilities. Prep's outdoor athletic complex includes lighted baseball, softball and soccer fields, a football stadium with a 400-meter track, eight wheelchair-accessible tennis courts, a cross country course, and practice fields.
Patriot Avenue and the Dining Commons give students and faculty an opportunity to gather and relax. Patriot Avenue is a central green space featuring a concrete plaza, connecting pathways and stepped amphitheater seating. The Dining Commons is a contemporary, multi-purpose dining hall and student common area with al fresco dining options and meeting and performing spaces.
asbestos notice
As part of an annual notification, we are informing all persons of their option of reviewing the Asbestos Management Plan, which would include documentation of any asbestos-containing materials at the school. To provide continuing management of the asbestos in our school, all asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are inspected every six months by an engineering firm from Jackson, MS. Any changes in the ACM are being recorded in a surveillance report as part of the Asbestos Management Plan. A copy of the surveillance report, along with a copy of the Asbestos Management Plan, is located in the Business Office. Any interested party should feel free to come to this office and review these reports.