Ransom Everglades School

History

Paul C. Ransom, an educator and New York lawyer, opened Pine Knot Camp in 1896 as a school for boys in Coconut Grove. In 1902 Ransom constructed a campus in the Adirondacks of New York to create the Adirondack-Florida School, a boarding school in which students alternated between the Florida and New York campuses during the academic year. 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. The Ransom School for Boys changed from a boarding to a day school in 1972; Its counterpart, the Everglades School for Girls, began in 1955 founded by Marie B. Swenson. The schools merged and adopted the current name in 1974.

Ransom Everglades has partnerships with organizations such as Breakthrough Miami, St. Alban's Child Enrichment Center, Booker T. Washington High School, ARC of South Florida, MUVE and the Reclamation Project. After an earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, students at Ransom Everglades raised almost $30,000 in relief funds.

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. Parks and Munroe describe the school as the oldest in South Florida still operating on its original site. The original site of the Everglades School for Girls is now the Middle School campus (Everglades Campus), serving grades six through eight and located on South Bayshore Drive, about one and a half miles from the Upper School.

Three early twentieth century buildings still stand on the Ransom campus. The pagoda was built in 1902. Once the whole school, the building serves as the Head of School's office, an event and study space, and faculty offices. In 1973, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Like the Pagoda, the "Ransom Cottage" is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1906, the cottage has been used as the infirmary, the Headmaster's residence, and the band room. Restored in 1998, now the cottage is a conference room and meeting space. In June 2016, Ransom Everglades acquired the La Brisa property adjacent to the Ransom Campus. The 6.9-acre campus includes a restored 1920s home that sits 23 feet above sea level. Then-head of school Penny Townsend stated that the purchase would allow the school to improve its facilities and add additional green space on the waterfront property.

Athletics

The school has an athletic program with over 70 teams among 18 interscholastic sports. Ransom Everglades has fielded state championship teams in water polo (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019), soccer (2015, 2016), tennis (2014, 2018), and volleyball (2013).

Notable alumni

Phil Lord, filmmaker, animator, and writer

Butch Brickell, racing driver and stuntman

Aileen Cannon, federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Chris Cavanaugh, swimmer

Marc Fein, sports broadcaster

Rachel Feinstein, artist

Jeff Lindsay, writer and playwright

Pamela Golbin, curator, author and fashion historian

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, documentary filmmaker and portrait photographer

Lillian Guerra, historian and academic

Ashleigh Johnson, water polo player

Mike Malinin, drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls

Robert Malval, Prime Minister of Haiti

Jeanine Mason, actress and dancer

Andres Pedroso, tennis player and coach

Jay Pierrepont Moffat, diplomat, historian and statesman

Dan Otero, baseball player

Arlene Sierra, composer

Sam Singer, basketball player

Laurinda Hope Spear, architect and landscape architect