Thomas Heyward Academy is a private school located in Ridgeland, South Carolina.

The school, founded as a segregation academy in 1970, was named after Thomas Heyward Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation who was a native of Ridgeland.

[3][4] In 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education ordered that public schools in the United States must be open to children of all races.

[6][7] The school was named after Thomas Heyward Jr., an 18th century Ridgeland native who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and a major slaveholder.

The school has a non-discrimination policy in the areas of race, color, national, and ethnic origin.