MICDS (Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) is a secular, co-educational, independent school home to more than 1,250 students ranging from grades Junior Kindergarten through 12. Its campus is located in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

suburb of Ladue. Each of the school's three divisions operate somewhat independently as a “school within a school”. The Lower School, also referred to as The Ronald S. Beasley School, or “Beasley” for short, is for students in grades

junior kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

through 4. The MICDS Middle School, grades 5 to 8, is in the former Mary Institute facilities. The Upper School on the former Country Day School campus serves grades 9 through 12.

History

William Greenleaf Eliot William Greenleaf Eliot (August 5, 1811 – January 23, 1887) was an American educator, Unitarian minister, and civic leader in Missouri. He is most notable for founding Washington University in St. Louis, and also contributed to the foundi ...

, founder and chancellor of

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, established predecessor institutions to MICDS in the 1850s as part of the university. A boys' school, Smith Academy, was founded in 1854, and was later attended by Eliot's grandson, the future poet T. S. Eliot. A sister school for girls, Mary Institute, was founded in 1859 and was named for Eliot's late daughter Mary Rhodes Eliot, who had died at 17. In its early years, Mary Institute moved twice within the city of St. Louis; its third building, at the corner of Lake and Waterman, is now New City School. Smith Academy closed in June 1917, in part due to the proliferation of private elementary schools and public secondary schools in the area. Three months later, St. Louis Country Day School opened in northwestern St. Louis County. Inspired by the Country Day School movement nationally, it was not related to Smith, although a number of former Smith students enrolled that first year. St. Louis Country Day School's campus was in a bucolic setting reached by electric streetcar, far removed from the noise and grit of the city. Mary Institute moved to its Ladue campus in 1931 and became independent of Washington University in 1949. By the 1950s, the tranquility of the Country Day campus was disrupted by the growth of the adjacent Lambert–Saint Louis International Airport. St. Louis Country Day School moved to a new campus next to Mary Institute in Ladue in 1958, and eventually sold its old campus to the airport. Eliot's grandson, Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot, who attended Mary Institute's kindergarten and Smith Academy, spoke at Mary Institute's centennial in 1959. Although various connections, including theatrical cooperation, had existed between Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School for years, academic coordination between Mary Institute and Country Day began during the 1970s and culminated in the 1992 merger of the schools. St. Louis Country Day

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

John Johnson, who coordinated the merger, became head of the combined schools. The school observed its sesquicentennial during a celebration that ran from May 11, 2009, to May 11, 2010. In 2013, MICDS opened a STEM building on the Upper School campus that contained classrooms, an auditorium, a hearth room, and student commons. The space also contains conference rooms, a faculty office space and work center, a robotics garage, and a science lab for independent research. The building is certified as LEED Platinum.

Athletics

MICDS teams have won 32 state championships and 41 district championships. The school has one of the few high school

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

teams in St. Louis. They competed in the Tour De St. Louis in 2009; two MICDS riders finished with the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

. MICDS has an athletic rivalry with the nearby

John Burroughs School John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri (US), a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. natu ...

. MICDS observes its Homecoming on the weekend when all the teams play Burroughs; there is a traditional bonfire and pep rally to inspire team spirit. MICDS also has a cross-state rivalry with The Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City.

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

inductee Marv Levy began his coaching career here in 1951, staying for two years. The women's varsity field hockey team won the Midwest Championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Men's water polo finished third in state in 2014. The Men's lacrosse team has won eight state championships, including six straight championships since 2014 under head coach Andy Kay.

Athletic facilities

In 2016, MICDS began construction on the O'Hara field and stadium, which replaced Ellis Field. It is used for football, lacrosse, and soccer. The same year, MICDS also began construction on The Steward Family Aquatic Center, which features a pool with a bulkhead in the center, allowing two teams to practice at the same time. The pool is also longer and the lanes are wider. It is also deep enough to allow the diving team to practice on campus. In 2011, a donor offered to fund the construction of an ice hockey arena, but the city of Ladue rejected the proposal and the arena was never built. The team practices off campus.

Notable alumni

Business

Morton May Morton D. May (25 March 1914 – 13 April 1983) (known as Buster to his friends and colleagues) was an American philanthropist and art collector. He was also at various times director, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of the ...

, Chairman,

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John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

, Chairman, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation * William F. Ruprecht, CEO, Sotheby's Auction House * George Herbert Walker IV, Chairman and CEO of

Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman Group LLC is a private, independent, employee-owned investment management firm. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors, advisors and high-net-wort ...

Government and Politics

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney and diplomat who began his career in 1968 as the Attorney General of Missouri and served three terms as United States Senator from Missouri. In 2004, he served br ...

, U.S. Senator and

Episcopal priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Thomas Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. H ...

, U.S. Senator and Democratic Nominee for

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* William McChesney Martin, Jr.,

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chairman * Mark McCloskey, attorney and U.S. Senate candidate * James W. Symington, U.S. Congressional Representative *

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Mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

, U.S. Senator and Governor of California * Alan Webber, Mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sports and Entertainment

* Drew Baur, Owner,

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

* Graham Bensinger, sports broadcaster * Sterling K. Brown, actor *

Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...

, sports broadcaster * Dwight F. Davis, founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition and

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(attended CDS precursor Smith Academy) * William DeWitt, Jr., owner,

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

(attended, did not graduate), actress and World War II pin-up girl *

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

, comic book artist *

Robby McGehee Robby McGehee (born July 20, 1973) is an American former race car driver. He competed in the Indy Racing League and won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth. He then raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the ...

, 1999 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year *

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

, actor * Devon Windsor, model * Michael Scherer, football coach at

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Arts, Sciences, and Education

* William S. Barker, president of

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(St. Louis), 1977–1984 *

Sally Benson Sally Benson ('' née'' Sara Smith; September 3, 1897 – July 19, 1972) was an American writer of short stories and screenwriter. She is best known for her humorous tales of modern youth collected in '' Junior Miss'' and her semi-autobiographica ...

, author of ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' and ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

'' *

Louis Daniel Brodsky Louis Daniel Brodsky (Louis Brodsky, L. D. Brodsky) (April 17, 1941 – June 16, 2014) was an American poet, short story writer, and Faulkner scholar. Life Louis Daniel Brodsky was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1941. He attended St. Louis Cou ...

, poet * Edmond La Beaume Cherbonnier, professor and scholar of religious studies * Winston Churchill (novelist), author of

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, The Crisis (novel), and

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, among others. *

William Henry Danforth William Henry Danforth II (April 10, 1926 – September 16, 2020) was a physician, professor of medicine, academic administrator, and philanthropist. He was chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1971 until 1995. He was the grandso ...

, chancellor,

* T.S. Eliot, poet (attended CDS precursor Smith Academy) * Peg Fenwick, screenwriter and playwright * Irving Fisher, economist, statistician, inventor, and Progressive social campaigner (attended CDS precursor Smith Academy) *

Landon Jones Landon Y. (Lanny) Jones is an American editor and author. He is a former managing editor of ''People magazine'' and the author of ''William Clark and the Shaping of the West'', a biography of William Clark, joint leader of the Lewis and Clark Exped ...

, editor and author *

Shepherd Mead Shepherd Mead, born Edward Mead (April 26, 1914 – August 15, 1994) was an American writer and is best known as the author of ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,'' which was adapted into a hit Broadway show and motion picture. ...

, author, ''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'' * Nick Reding, journalist and author of '' Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town'' *

Hadley Richardson Elizabeth Hadley Richardson (November 9, 1891 – January 22, 1979) was the first wife of American author Ernest Hemingway. The two married in 1921 after a courtship of less than a year, and moved to Paris within months of being married. In Paris, ...

, first wife of

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Irma S. Rombauer Irma S. Rombauer (October 30, 1877 – October 14, 1962) was an American cookbook author, best known for ''The Joy of Cooking'' (1931), one of the world's most widely read cookbooks. Following Irma Rombauer's death, periodic revisions of the book ...

, author of ''

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'' *

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, poet *

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

, short-story writer and novelist *

Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale (August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born Sarah Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger after her marriage in 1914. In 1918 she won a Pulitzer Prize for he ...

, poet * Harry Weber (sculptor), Sculptor * Linda Wells, founder and editor-in-chief, '' Allure'' magazine; annual guest judge on the Bravo reality television series ''

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'' * Sterling K Brown, Actor “ This Is Us (television), Black Panther (movie) Marshall (movie)”

References

External links

Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
{{authority control Elementary schools in St. Louis County, Missouri Middle schools in St. Louis County, Missouri High schools in St. Louis County, Missouri Private K-12 schools in Missouri Private schools in St. Louis County, Missouri Educational institutions established in 1859 Private high schools in Missouri Private middle schools in Missouri Private elementary schools in Missouri 1859 establishments in Missouri Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certified buildings