T.M. Landry College Preparatory

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T.M. Landry College Preparatory
TMLandrylogo.png
Address
1800 Rees Street

Breaux Bridge
,
St. Martin Parish
,
Louisiana
70517

United States
Coordinates30°17′19″N 91°54′32″W / 30.2887026°N 91.9089316°W / 30.2887026; -91.9089316
Information
Founded2005
FoundersTracey & Mike Landry
PrincipalTracey Landry
WebsiteT.M. Landry College Prep

T.M. Landry College Preparatory (also known simply as T.M. Landry) is an unaccredited, co-educational private college-preparatory school in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana for grades K–12. The school initially made headlines for its 100% acceptance rate into 4-year colleges, but received negative attention in 2018 as the subject of an investigative report by the New York Times, detailing allegations of abuse of students, and falsification of transcripts and college applications. As of 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation on the school.[1]

History[]

T.M. Landry was originally established as a homeschool for five children in 2005. The founders of the school are Michael Landry, a former salesman and a certified teacher since 2002, and his wife Tracey Landry, who worked as a nurse prior to establishing the school and currently serves as the school's Principal. The school is now an unaccredited private school for grades K–12. T.M. Landry moved into a former factory building in 2017.[1] According to the school website, 142 students are enrolled in the school in 2018, and the average class size is six students in primary school and 12 students in middle and high school.[2]

Media[]

T.M. Landry has been the subject of many national news features. Local television news outlets in Breaux Bridge and Louisiana have profiled the school. The school became the focus of national media attention in December 2016 after one high school senior was accepted into Cornell University.[3][4] T.M. Landry students have been accepted into other prestigious schools, including: Harvard University, Boston University, Tulane University, and New York University. In October 2018, NBC's show Today reported that T.M. Landry boasts a 100% college acceptance rate.[5]

In November 2018, The New York Times published an investigative report that accused T.M. Landry of doctoring transcripts and college applications that, in turn, would get a student accepted into Ivy League schools. These tactics worked, and videos of students viewing acceptance letters went viral. The Times article alleged student abuse by the founder and principal, Michael Landry, who reportedly would choke students and force them to kneel before him for hours. According to 2013 court documents obtained by the reporters, Landry pleaded guilty to a count of simple battery and was sentenced to probation and a court-ordered anger management program. Students said that Landry told them he would ruin their chances of acceptance to college if they spoke of the abuse. In an interview with The New York Times, Landry denied the allegations of abuse.[1]

In June 2019, The New York Times reported that FBI was investigating the college applications submitted by students at the T. M. Landry College Preparatory School.[6][7]

Allegations of abuse and transcript falsifications[]

In a New York Times article published in November 2018, authors Erica L. Green and Katie Benner reported evidence that the school falsified transcripts, academic achievements, and community service on its students' applications to Ivy League schools. The article detailed accusations that the Landrys ran their school through fear and physical and emotional abuse. Numerous students and teachers support these allegations. Some of them reported that "students were forced to kneel on rice, rocks and hot pavement, and were choked, yelled at and berated."[1] In December 2018, Louisiana State Police began an investigation into the abuse allegations.[8]

In April 2019, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser and Lafayette's News 15 reported that impartial investigators found no evidence to support allegations against the school. Investigators stated the attorney for the families who spoke with The New York Times declined to make them available for interviews or provide any documents supporting allegations of abuse.[9][10] The school was also the subject of a half hour documentary film, The Education of T.M. Landry, presented as the first episode of the new TV series produced by The New York Times called The Weekly which made its debut on FX and HULU in June, 2019.[11]

Accepted[]

A documentary, Accepted, directed by Dan Chen, premiered June 12, 2021, at the Tribeca Film Festival. It is set in the 2019 school year.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Green, Erica L.; Benner, Katie (30 November 2018). "Louisiana School Made Headlines for Sending Black Kids to Elite Colleges. Here's the Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  2. ^ "SCHOOL PROFILE" (PDF). TM Landry College Preparatory. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  3. ^ "A high school senior gets into an Ivy League school". Miami Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Update: Joyful video, Part 2, as south Louisiana school celebrates second student accepted to Ivy League college". The Advocate. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. ^ Inside The Louisiana School with a 100 Percent College Acceptance Rate, The Today Show, NBC, 2018-10-19, retrieved 2018-11-30
  6. ^ Benner, Katie; Green, Erica L. (2019-06-02). "F.B.I. Is Said to Be Investigating College Admissions Practices at T.M. Landry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  7. ^ "Report: FBI Probes College Applications From Private School | Inside Higher Ed". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
  8. ^ Benner, Katie; Green, Erica L. (2018-12-12). "State Police Investigating Abuse at Celebrated Louisiana School". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  9. ^ Guidry, Leigh (April 12, 2019). "T. M. Landry releases inconclusive third-party investigation into school". Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
  10. ^ Trache, Taylor. "TM Landry Investigation Shows Inconsistencies With N.Y. Times Article". News 15. KADN. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. ^ "The Education T.M. Landry".
  12. ^ Schager, Nick (June 13, 2021). "This School's Viral College Acceptance Videos Masked Lies and Abuse". Daily Beast.

External links[]

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