The Blake School
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| The Blake School | |
 |
|
| challenging the mind, engaging the heart | |
| Established | 1900 |
| School type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | none |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| Campus | •Lower and Middle School, Blake Campus (Hopkins, Minnesota) •Lower School, Highcroft Campus (Wayzata, Minnesota) •Upper School, Northrop Campus (Minneapolis, Minnesota) |
| Enrollment | approx. 1,355 |
| Average SAT scores () |
2400 |
| Athletics | 26 varsity sports |
| Color(s) | Royal and Kelly Green |
| Mascot | Bears |
| Conference | Tri Metro Conference |
| Homepage | www.blakeschool.org |
The Blake School is a private, coeducational school serving students in grades PreKindergarten-12. The School is located on three campuses around the Twin Cities area in Minnesota: the Northrop Campus houses the Upper School (grades 9-12), and is in downtown Minneapolis; the Blake Campus is the location of administration offices, the middle school, and one-half of the Lower School, and is in Hopkins; the Highcroft Campus in Wayzata is the other half of the Lower School.
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[edit] History
During the early 20th century, two schools were founded to educate young grifting Minneapolis students: the Northrop Collegiate School for girls and The Blake School for boys. Northrop was started in 1900 and moved into Graham Hall, the current home of the Upper School, in 1914. Blake was incorporated in 1907 at the original campus of The Blake School for Boys is where the Blake Campus is today. The Highcroft Campus can trace its roots back to Highcroft Country Day School. Founded in 1958, the school served Highcroft students until ninth grade, and then they could attend either Blake or Northrop. The three schools entered into a partnership in 1972 and merged.[1] Blake graduated its first coeducational class in 1975.
The earliest predecessor of the present school dates back to 1900 and was originally founded as Graham Hall by Miss Zulema A. Ruble and Miss Carrie Bartlett. The school, which provided the opportunity for girls to continue their studies through their second year of college, was first located in a house near downtown Minneapolis. But the school soon outgrew that location and moved into three neighboring houses about six blocks from its original location. In July 1914 a group of Minneapolis leaders joined forces to purchase Golden Graham Hall and the following summer incorporated the school as Northrop Collegiate School. It was named in honor of Cyrus Northrop, president of the University of Minnesota from 1885-1911. Dr. Northrop was a speaker at the January 29, 1917 opening ceremonies of the school's new building near downtown Minneapolis, which currently houses the Upper School of The Blake School.
The Blake School began as three independent schools. In September 1907, William McKendree Blake established the Blake School, a preparatory school for boys, in downtown Minneapolis. Three years later, an area businessman wanted to reform Blake and put it on the same plane as eastern preparatory academies. With help from William Blake, Charles C. Bovey asked 16 other local business leaders to contribute $2,500 each towards Blake's first capital drive. These original guarantors hired Charles B. Newton, who was educated at Princeton and Harvard Universities, to replace William Blake as headmaster in 1911. The school incorporated on May 5, 1911, and one years later their pooled resources enabled construction of a new building in Hopkins in 1912 (the site is still the home campus for the Middle School and one of the two Lower School campuses).
Highcroft Country Day School was founded in 1958 as an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, kindergarten through ninth grade school. Highcroft was designed to provide an education, near home, for students in the far western suburbs of the Twin Cities. The school building was built in 1960 on land purchased and donated to the school, which had been part of the former Highcroft estate in Wayzata. Today, Highcroft is Blake's other Lower School campus.
Following graduation from ninth grade, many Highcroft students attended Northrop or Blake, and Highcroft later became a partner in the four-year process that resulted in the merger of Northrop, Blake and Highcroft on August 15, 1972. After the merger the three schools were known as The Blake Schools, until 1987, when the name officially became The Blake School
Many of the traditions of the schools that merged are preserved in today's Blake School. One of the school colors, green, came from Highcroft, while the other school color, blue, and Cyrus the bear, came from Northrop. Cyrus the bear combined with the Blake Bear to become the new school's mascot.[1]
[edit] Athletics
The Blake School is in the Tri-Metro Conference, which is part of the Minnesota State High School League.
| State Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Tennis, Girls | 6 | 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 |
| Soccer, Girls | 1 | 2000 | |
| Winter | Alpine Skiing, Boys | 3 | 1978, 2006, 2007 |
| Alpine Skiing, Girls | 3 | 1978, 1981, 1992 | |
| Fencing, Coed | 1 | 2001 | |
| Hockey, Girls | 2 | 2003, 2007 | |
| Gymnastics, Girls | 2 | 1981, 1983 | |
| Basketball, Girls | 3 | 1994, 1998, 1999 | |
| Spring | Golf, Boys | 3 | 1982, 1984, 1997 |
| Tennis, Boys | 12 | 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003 | |
| Lacrosse, Boys | 2 | 2005, 2006 | |
| Track and Field, Girls | 2 | 2001, 2006 | |
| Total | 37 | ||
[edit] List of Headmasters
- Note: Unless otherwise noted, people listed are headmasters of The Blake School after the merger.
- William Blake, 1907-1911, Blake School for Boys
- Charles B. Newton, 1911-unknown, Blake School for Boys
- Raymond Johnson
- H. John Stander
- Tyler C. Tingley, 1991-1997
- John Gulla (1997- Present)
[edit] Notable alumni
- Al Franken, Class of 1969, American liberal humorist, satirist, comedian, author, screenwriter, television performer (Saturday Night Live), political commentator, and radio host[2]
- Steve Kelley, Class of 1971, Minnesota State Senator, Former State Rep., Attorney & 2000 US Senate Candidate[3]
- David Ellwood, Class of 1971, Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA[4]
- Mark Dayton, Class of 1965, U.S. Senator, represented Minnesota[5]
- George Roy Hill, Class of 1939, Oscar-winning Director[6]
- Zan Lund, Class of 1973, founder of North American Society for Outstanding Options Trading.
- Tom Davis, Class of 1970, Prolific comedy writer and performer[2]
- Robert Pirsig, Class of 1943, Author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
- Lucia Watson, Class of 1972, proprietor and chef of Lucia's Restaurant, Minneapolis
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Blake School official website, History of The Blake School
- ^ a b The Blake School official website, Outstanding Alumni Award
- ^ Pioneer Press, Will gutsy moves bring Kelley glory?, June 5, 2006
- ^ The Blake School official website, David Ellwood Alumnus
- ^ Mark Dayton's official website, Mark Dayton Bio
- ^ The Blake School official website, George Hill Alumnus
