| University Liggett School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, United States | |
| Information | |
| School type | Private, Secular, Co-educational[1] |
| Religious affiliation(s) | None |
| Established | 1878, as Liggett School |
| Head of school | Joseph P. Healey, Ph.D.[2] |
| Enrollment | 506 PreK-12[3] |
| Average class size | 14 students[4] |
| Campus size | 50 acres (200,000 m2)[5] on two locations[6] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Red, white and blue |
| Mascot | Knight |
| Endowment | $56 million |
| Website | http://www.uls.org |
University Liggett School, also known as ULS and Liggett, is a private, secular school in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1878, it is Michigan's oldest independent coeducational day school.[5]
The school has two campuses totaling 50 acres (200,000 m2). Its Cook Road Campus teaches pre-kindergarten and kindergarten in the Primary School, grades 1 through 5 in the Lower School, and grades 9 through 12 in the Upper School. The Middle School, located on the Briarcliff Campus, serves grades 6 through 8. According to the school, over 50 zip codes in Southeastern Michigan are represented by its student population.[5] Over $2 million in merit- and need-based financial aid is awarded to new and returning students annually.[7]
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In the spring of 1878, seven members of the Liggett family, headed by the Reverend James D. Liggett, settled in Detroit to establish a small, independent school for girls christened originally as The Detroit Home and Day School. In 1883, the school moved to a three-story brick building at the corner of Cass Avenue and Stimson Place. In 1914, the Albert Kahn-designed “Eastern Liggett" branch, on Burns Avenue at Charlevoix, was built and soon fully occupied. It would remain so until 1964, when classes would be held in a new building constructed on Briarcliff Drive in Grosse Pointe Woods.[5]
Detroit University School, the second of ULS’ predecessor schools, was founded in 1899 by Charles Bliss and Henry Gray Sherrard, who sought independence from public schools. In 1916, after a fire destroyed Detroit University School's original building at Elmwood between Larned and Congress, it moved to what became known as the "Castle," a Gothic-style former residence on Parkview Drive midway between Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River. There it remained until 1928, when, with the help of Henry and Edsel Ford and many other Detroiters, the school relocated to Cook Road, then the eastern limits of Grosse Pointe.[5]
Opened in 1915 in a white frame house (still standing at 301 Roosevelt Place in Grosse Pointe), Grosse Pointe Country Day School served boys and girls from kindergarten through ninth grade. A year later, classes opened in an English-style building located at Fisher Road and Grosse Pointe Boulevard. In 1941, Detroit University School and Grosse Pointe Country Day School joined forces under one board. For the day-to-day life of the schools, the major change was that Country Day sent its older boys to Detroit University School and became a school for girls.[5]
In 1954, the Country Day building was sold to the Grosse Pointe public schools and the girls joined the boys on the Cook Road campus, merging the schools to make Grosse Pointe University School. Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned to design a lower school, a middle school, and other facilities, such as a new gymnasium, an auditorium, a library, and fine arts rooms, to complement the two-story brick building erected in 1928.[5]
In 1969, the need for an increase in space for the middle school was solved by merging Grosse Point University School with The Liggett School to form University Liggett School.[5]
The school no longer offers Advanced Placement classes in history (World History, United States Government and Politics), science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), English (Literature and Composition), foreign language (Latin Virgil), and mathematics (Calculus AB).[8] However, in its September 2010 newsletter, the school announced a change to its curriculum that included phasing out AP courses and replacing them with honors or advanced courses to encourage "independent" thinking and learning.[9]
100% of graduating seniors are accepted to accredited four-year colleges.[3]
University Liggett School is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools and Association of Independent Michigan Schools. ULS' sports teams compete with regional private and public high schools, such as Detroit Country Day School, Greenhills School, Oakland Christian, and Cranbrook Kingswood. Liggett competes athletically in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference for most regular-season contests with many other similarly sized independent schools throughout Michigan. It is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and its 9-12 enrollment of 244 currently places it in MHSAA's Class D.
University Liggett School also has a FIRST Robotics Competition team that began its rookie season in 2010.[10]
University Liggett Schools students produce films and workshops made throughout the year, and the performing arts department launches two major theatrical productions annually: a drama each fall and a musical each winter.[11] The school is active in the International Thespian Society and the Educational Theatre Association as Troupe 5253. The school's Manoogian Arts Wing was added in 1981,[11] under the planning of then-Arts head Ed Jacomo; it added arts facilities to the school, including a new dance studio, an art display, an audio-video editing studio, five arts classrooms, arts offices, and a conference room.[11]