Ransom Everglades is an independent, non-profit, co-educational, college-preparatory day school serving grades six to twelve in Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. It formed with the merger in 1974 of the Everglades School for Girls and the Ransom School for Boys.[1] It's described as a college preparatory school and 100% of Ransom Everglades' students attend a four-year institution after graduation.[2]
| Ransom Everglades School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
3575 Main Highway , 33133 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Independent |
| Motto | Honor and Excellence |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Founder | Paul C. Ransom & Marie B. Swenson |
| Head of school | Penny Townsend |
| Grades | 6-12 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age range | 11-19 |
| Enrollment | 1069 (2010–11) |
| Average class size | 14.3 |
| Campuses | Ransom Campus (Upper School), Everglades Campus (Middle School) |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Hunter Green and Carolina Blue |
| Athletics | Football, Sailing, Swimming, Robotics, Cross Country, Lacrosse, Tennis, Water Polo |
| Team name | Raider |
| Rival | Gulliver Preparatory School |
| Publication | The Dell & Cannon |
| Newspaper | The Catalyst |
| Website | www.ransomeverglades.org |
Admission is competitive and tuition costs $34,100 per year (2015–16).[3] Financial aid is available. Graduating classes tend to number between 140 and 160 students (2007-2010 average: 142); approximately 85% continue onto out-of-state colleges and universities. Despite its size, the school has a comprehensive athletic program with over 70 teams among 18 interscholastic sports.[4] Over 90% of the student body participates in team sports.
Ransom Everglades is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Membership is held in the Southern and National Associations for College Admission Counseling, the National Association of Independent Schools, and the College Entrance Examination Board, among others.
History
Paul C. Ransom, an educator and New York lawyer, opened Pine Knot Camp in 1896 as a school for boys. In 1902 he combined that with a campus in the Adirondacks of New York to create the Adirondack-Florida School, the first two-campus boarding school. Students would attend classes in the Florida campus in the winter and New York campus in fall and spring.[5][6] The school suspended operations during World War II. After the war the school reopened in 1947. In 1949 the Adirondack campus was shut down and the school continued in Coconut Grove as the Ransom School for Boys.[7][8] Ransom School changed from a boarding to a day school in 1972.[9] Its counterpart, the Everglades School for Girls, began in 1955 founded by Marie B. Swenson.[10] The schools merged and took its current name in 1974.
One of the early buildings still stands on the campus, the pagoda was built in 1912 and served as the original library for the school.[11] In more recent years it has served as the Head of School's office. It's often featured in historic pictures of South Miami, and in 1973 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[1][6][12]
Campuses
The school occupies two campuses. The "Upper School" (Ransom Campus) serves grades nine through twelve and is located on Main Highway on the shore of Biscayne Bay, the site of the original Pine Knot Camp. This makes it the oldest South Florida school still in its original location.[6] The "Middle School" (Everglades Campus) serves grades six through eight and is located on South Bayshore Drive, about one and a half miles from the Upper School. It is not on the water but is in a residential neighborhood and a mile away from the restaurants and shops of Coconut Grove. It is also the original site of the Everglades School for Girls.
Both Campuses are featured in the 1998 movie Wild Things.
Notable alumni
- Ferdinand W. Roebling, Jr. - Industrialist. First graduate.[13][14][15]
- Butch Brickell - Racing driver and stuntman notable for his work in such movies as 2 Fast 2 Furious, True Lies, and others[16][17]
- Majandra Delfino - Actress on Roswell TV series
- Pamela Druckerman - Writer and journalist
- Marc Fein - Sports broadcaster
- Timothy Greenfield-Sanders - Documentary filmmaker and portrait photographer
- Jeffry P. Freundlich (pen name: Jeff Lindsay) - writer of the Darkly Dreaming Dexter series, which has been adapted into the hit television series Dexter[18]
- Debby Herbenick - Research scientist at Indiana University
- Phillip Lord - director of the films Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street.
- Mike Malinin - Drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls since 1995.[19]
- Robert Malval - 5th Prime Minister of Haiti
- Jeanine Mason - Winner of Season 5 of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance.[20][21]
- Kabir Mehta - M8
- Stuart A. Miller - President of the Lennar Corporation[22]
- Jay Pierrepont Moffat - Diplomat.[22][23]
- Lithgow Osborne - Diplomat.[22]
- Dan Otero - Oakland Athletics pitcher
- Arlene Sierra - Composer.[24]
- Laurinda Hope Spear - Founder of Arquitectonica.[22]
- Devi Sridhar - Youngest American Rhodes Scholar (at age 18) since creation of award.[25][26][27][28]
- W. Robert Timken. President of Timken Company.[22]
- (Andrea) Ondi Timoner- film director, only director to win Sundance Grand Jury award twice
- Jordi Vilasuso - Cuban-American award-winning soap opera actor[29]
- Carlos Watson - Television host[30]
- Bruce Weitz - Actor, best known as undercover cop Sgt. Michael "Mick" Belker in the 1980s TV series Hill Street Blues
- Sloan Wilson - Author, most notable for his novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit[22]
- Nicholas Winset - Professor terminated from Emmanuel College[31]
References
- Notes
- ^ a b Klepser (2002) p.59
- ^ "Petersons". Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "Ransom Everglades School". Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ Peterson's (2008) p.482
- ^ Klepser (2002) p.58
- ^ a b c Parks and Munroe (2004) p. 131
- ^ Klepser (2002) p. 59
- ^ Blanc (1979) pp. 58-59 and p. 84.
- ^ Blanc (1979) p. 95.
- ^ Lovejoy (1969) p.41
- ^ Headley (1996) p. 19
- ^ Historic Preservation Miami web site article on the Ransom School pagoda
- ^ Blanc (1979) pp. 22.
- ^ Liles, (1996) p. 30.
- ^ "Ferdinand W. Roebling, Jr". The Roebling Story at the Invention Factory. 2002. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Butch Brickell obituary
- ^ Historicracing.com biography
- ^ Newsbull Jeff Lindsay Interview
- ^ Daz biography for Mike Malinin
- ^ Official Season 5 So You Think You Can Dance Blog profiling the top 20 contestants
- ^ My Reality Television article about Jeanine Mason
- ^ a b c d e f Ransom-Everglades School. Alumni Directory 1981.
- ^ Blanc (1979) p. 42.
- ^ Cardiff University biography for Arlene Sierra
- ^ Sridhar bio
- ^ The Hindu (January 2004) On the road to success
- ^ The Miami Hurricane Youngest Ever Rhodes scholar Prepares for Future
- ^ Oxendine Publishing UM student does it all
- ^ Jordi Vilasuso biography at Soapcentral.com
- ^ Nee, Eric (2006) Stanford Lawyer Winter 2006 Issue
- ^ Nicholas Winset termination
- Bibliography
- Blanc, Giulio, editor. Ransom Everglades; Reflections of a School, 1893-1978. Miami: Banyan Books (1979)
- Headley, Gwyn (1996) Architectural Follies in America. ISBN 0-471-14362-6
- Klepser, Carolyn and Arva Moore Parks (2002) Miami Then and Now (Then & Now). Thunder Bay Press, ISBN 1-57145-852-2
- Liles, Harriet, editor. Miami Diary 1896. (no place, no publisher) (1996)
- Lovejoy, Clarence Earle (1963) Lovejoy's Prep School Guide
- Peterson's (2008) Private Secondary Schools 2008. ISBN 0-7689-2399-9
- Pincus, Laura and Arva Moore Parks. (2003) Honor & Excellence: A Century Of Ransom Everglades School. Centennial Press, ISBN 0-9741589-1-7
- Parks, Avra Moore and Munroe, Ralph (2004) The Forgotten Frontier: Florida Through the Lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe. ISBN 0-9741589-2-5