Cranbrook Schools

This article is about the private Pre-K–12 school in Michigan, United States. For alternate uses, including other Cranbrook schools, see Cranbrook (disambiguation).

Cranbrook Schools is a private PK–12 educational institution located on a 319-acre (129 ha) campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It includes a co-educational elementary school, a middle school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a co-educational college-preparatory high school with boarding facilities. Cranbrook Schools is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC), which includes the Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Cranbrook House and Gardens. Christ Church Cranbrook is also on campus. The Cranbrook community was established by publishing mogul George Booth, who bought the site of today's Cranbrook community in 1904. Cranbrook was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989, for its significant architecture and design. It attracts tourists from around the world. Approximately 40 acres (160,000 m²) of Cranbrook Schools' campus are gardens.

Cranbrook Schools
Location
Bloomfield Hills , MI 48304 USA
Coordinates	42°34′21.6″N 83°14′56.4″W
Information
Type	Private, Boarding
Motto	Cranbrook: "Aim High" Kingswood: "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve"
Established	1922 (1922)
Head of school	Jeff Suzik, Ph.D.
Faculty	200
Enrollment	1658 Students 506 Pre-K thru 5th Grade 339 Grades 6th thru 8th 811 Grades 9th thru 12th (257 Boarding, 554 Day)
Student to teacher ratio	8:1
Campus size	319 acres (129 ha)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Blue and Green
Athletics	25 Interscholastic Sports
Athletics conference	MHSAA Catholic League Division II
Mascot	Cranbrook Crane Kingswood Aardvark
Tuition	Boarding: $56,600 Day: $41,800
Website	schools.cranbrook.edu

As of 2023, Cranbrook Schools had an endowment of $217 million, among the fifteen largest held by America's boarding schools. In addition, the Cranbrook Educational Community, of which the schools is a member, had an endowment in excess of $300 million in 2007.

As of 2021 it had 1,656 students, making it Michigan's largest private school by enrollment in a single campus.

History of Cranbrook Schools

Cranbrook Dining Hall Outside

In 1915, George and Ellen Booth opened a portion of their property to the general public with the construction of a small Greek Theatre. In 1918, the Booths built the Meeting House, which became the Bloomfield Hills School, opening for local children in 1922 (grades 1–12).

Cranbrook Kingswood Quad Gate

Subsequently, the Booths decided to build a middle school and a college preparatory school. Cranbrook School for Boys, which began operations in 1927, was designed by world-renowned Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. Completed in 1928, it was Saarinen's first executed architectural work in the United States. The name "Cranbrook" was chosen since Cranbrook, England was the birthplace of George Booth's father. Kingswood School Cranbrook (for girls), also designed by Saarinen, opened in 1931. Cranbrook and Kingswood enrolled students from grades 7–12. The Bloomfield Hills School became an elementary school and was renamed Brookside School Cranbrook in 1930.

Unlike the Cranbrook School for Boys, which has several buildings, the Kingswood School has only one building, which includes supporting facilities. It houses dormitories, a dining hall, an auditorium, classrooms, lounge/common areas, a bowling alley, and a ballroom. The education at Kingswood School Cranbrook was initially primarily viewed as a "finishing school". Today, Students take classes in English, History, Religion, and Art at Kingswood. The art classes available are Foundations in Design, Sculpture, Drawing, Weaving, Ceramics, Fashion Design, Painting, and Photography.

For the Booths and Saarinen, the conception and design of the Cranbrook and Kingswood schools were greatly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which began in 19th-century England.

In 1923, Booth founded an Episcopal church to serve the nascent Cranbrook community, as well as surrounding communities. He chose the firm of Goodhue Associates to design the church. Groundbreaking took place in 1925, and Christ Church Cranbrook was consecrated on September 29, 1928. Originally Cranbrook and Kingswood schools were affiliated with the Episcopal Church, but they have since secularized. However, special occasions are still celebrated at Christ Church Cranbrook.

Cranbrook School, Kingswood School, and Brookside School operated separately until 1970, when it was decided to govern them together. This was followed by the creation of the Cranbrook Educational Community. In 1985, Cranbrook and Kingswood schools were merged to create a co-educational upper school institution.

The middle school did not become co-educational; it was divided into gender-specific campuses in 1984. The Community acquired Vaughan School to house the boys' middle school. The basement of Kingswood was at one point the girls' middle school. A new Middle School building opened in 2010. For boys and girls of grades 6–8, all classes are separate. The exceptions are those for the performing arts (Symphonic Band, Orchestra).

Cranbrook brick architecture

Italian Fountain Quad

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger of The New York Times called the Cranbrook campus "one of the greatest campuses ever created anywhere".

Cranbrook Schools today

In 1985, Cranbrook School and Kingswood School were merged to create a coeducational upper school, the Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School. Classes are taught on both the original Cranbrook and Kingswood campuses.

Frequently, the school is referred to as "CK" by its students, faculty, and alumni. Cranbrook Kingswood now lays claim to 70 athletic teams; both men and women's teams earned state championship titles in hockey, tennis, lacrosse, golf and swimming. As of 2011, there were 795 students, approximately one-third of which were boarding students who live in single-sex residence halls. Cranbrook Kingswood accepts slightly fewer than half of all applicants, placing it in the most selective 25% of preparatory schools in the United States.

Several programs offered at Cranbrook have won awards and recognition. The student newspaper The Crane-Clarion has been recognized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. In 2009, the Upper School's student literary arts magazine, Gallimaufry, received a Gold Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The robotics and forensics team have also won several state and national awards. Their Model United Nations team has also been placed in the top 75 in North America as of Spring 2012.

Total enrollment at Cranbrook during 2007–08 was 1626, with 780 enrolled in the upper school, 333 in the middle schools, and 513 at the lower school Brookside. (Brookside's numbers include children enrolled in pre-kindergarten, junior kindergarten, and kindergarten at the Vlasic Early Childhood Center, which opened in 1996.) Approximately 11% of Cranbrook Kingswood's students are international students. Traditionally, Cranbrook School also has an exchange program with Cranbrook School, Kent, a boarding school in Cranbrook, Kent, England in honor of George Booth's heritage.

Summer programs

During the summer months Cranbrook Schools conducts a variety of day and boarding programs on their campus. These include day camps, a soccer clinic, a filmmaking seminar, a compensatory educational program for students from low-income families, a jazz ensemble, ice hockey, lacrosse, and tennis camps as well as the Cranbrook Theater School. The actor Robert Englund taught one summer at the theater school.

Iconography

The Archer, the symbol of Cranbrook school, is based on an episode in Book V (Latin) of the Aeneid, by Virgil, line 519:

...tamen aerias telum contendit in auras...

...he aimed an arrow high into the breezes of the air...

In an archery contest, a bird is tethered to a cord, and there are four archers. The first three in turn miss, then hit the bird, while the fourth, Acestes, instead shoots his arrow into the air, where it bursts into flames. For this miracle, Acestes is declared the victor.

The design was chosen by William Oliver Stevens, the first headmaster of Cranbrook School, who sketched it. The actual logo was designed by Eero Saarinen.

Traditions

• Although Cranbrook School for Boys and Kingswood School Cranbrook merged in 1985 to become a single co-ed institution, the school reflects in many ways its history as separate, single-sex entities. (Alumni and alumnae who were enrolled prior to the merger consider themselves graduates of either Cranbrook or Kingswood.) Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School has two different hymns: The Cranbrook Song and the Kingswood Song, which are sung at many school events. Only the boys are invited to attend the Cranbrook Senior Pageant. Boys and girls have separate graduation ceremonies (although they do share in the same Baccalaureate service).
• Since 1971 sophomores have taken part in the Wilderness Expedition, a 10-day backpacking and wilderness camping trip in March that takes place in the Smoky Mountains along the North Carolina-Tennessee border
• Junior leadership ceremonies to celebrate the transition of the juniors to the senior class: A Junior Ring ceremony for girls and the Passage of Leadership ceremony for boys is held at Christ Church Cranbrook
• Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School maintains a dress code: Sweatpants are not allowed on any day except Friday, and on every Wednesday (the so-called Dress Day) boys have to wear a dress shirt with a tie and girls have to wear dresses or dressy tops with skirts or slacks.
• A convocation ceremony is held at the opening of the school year.

Popular references

• Paper Lion, George Plimpton's non-fiction account of his faux tryout as quarterback for the Detroit Lions in 1963 was set in large measure at Cranbrook (where the Lions trained from 1957 through 1974).
• Eminem's character, Rabbit, in the 2002 film 8 Mile mentions Cranbrook in a rap battle with Papa Doc (portrayed by Anthony Mackie) when he questions Papa Doc's "gangsta" act because he attended Cranbrook, which is a private school.
• The Cranbrook School is also the model for the preparatory school portrayed in Edmund White´s autobiographical novel A Boy's Own Story.
• Lisa Birnbach makes note of Cranbrook in The Official Preppy Handbook and True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World.

Notable faculty

• Dave Barney (1960s), English teacher, head coach for ice hockey and baseball, assistant coach for football
• George Laskowski (1970s-1990s), whose science fiction fanzine Lan's Lantern won a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine.
• Amanda Moore (2000s), English teacher

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Cranbrook Kingswood School alumni

Cranbrook has many notable alumni, including designer Florence Knoll, former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson, Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Utah Senator and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann Romney (née Davies), Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, columnist Michael Kinsley, Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy, co-founder of Pandora Radio Tim Westergren, former professional soccer player Alexi Lalas, Lisa Frank, actress and Tony award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry and actress Selma Blair.

Athletics

Cranbrook Athletic Field

Cranbrook Kingswood participates in MHSAA Division 3

Hockey-B	State Champions: 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2024
Hockey-G	State Champions: 1998, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2013
Lacrosse-B	State Champions: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2006, 2013, 2015
Lacrosse-G	State Champions: 2017, 2018 Midwest Champions: 2009
Tennis-B	State Champions: 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023
Tennis-G	State Champions: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023
Golf-B	State Champions: 1980, 1997, 1999, 2012, 2014
Golf-G	State Champions: 2001, 2006, 2021
Track and Field-B	State Champions: 1966, 1972
Swimming & Diving-B	State Champions: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2024
Swimming & Diving-G	State Champions: 2011, 2012, 2017, 2020

Gallery

• 
  Cranbrook Campus impression (3)
• 
  Dining Hall
• 
  Natatorium
• 
  Hallway to Keppel Gymnasium
• 
  Kingswood School Building
• 
  Eponymously engraved archway
• 
  Dining Hall

See also

• Cranbrook Educational Community
• Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

Further reading

• Elizabeth C. Clark, Beside a Lake
• Bruce N. Coulter, Forty Years On
• Kathryn Bishop Eckert, The Campus Guide: Cranbrook
• Ben M. Snyder III, Once More With Joy