Cranbrook Schools is a private PK–12 educational institution located on a campus in

Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded on most sides by Bloomfi ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. It includes a co-educational elementary school, a middle school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a co-educational

college-preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

high school with boarding facilities. Cranbrook Schools is part of the

Cranbrook Educational Community The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property t ...

(CEC), which includes the

Cranbrook Institute of Science The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of ...

, the

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Academy of Art, a graduate school for architecture, art, and design, was founded by George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth in 1932. It is the art school of the Cranbrook Educational Community. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Mi ...

, and

Cranbrook House and Gardens The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan, National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by ne ...

. 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 A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on June 29, 1989, for its significant architecture and design. It attracts tourists from around the world. Approximately of Cranbrook Schools' campus are gardens. 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. it had 1,656 students, making it Michigan's largest private school by enrollment in a single campus. - Updated October 4, 2017

History of Cranbrook Schools

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 School A D 1927

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 Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

. 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 A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects the fact that it follows ordinary school and is intended to complete a young woman's ...

". 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 The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

, which began in 19th-century England. Much of the campus features revival architectural styles emphasizing clay materials such as

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and Ludowici tile. 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

. 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). Italian Fountain Quad

Architecture critic

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born December 4, 1950)Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Cfp.87on Paul Goldberger

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is a student journalist program of the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a ...

and the

National Scholastic Press Association The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism con ...

. In 2009, the Upper School's student literary arts magazine, ''Gallimaufry'', received a Gold Crown award from the

. The

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

and

forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

team have also won several state and national awards. Their

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

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 Cranbrook School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state funded boarding and day grammar school in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13. History The school wa ...

, a boarding school in

Cranbrook, Kent Cranbrook is a town in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, in the Weald of Kent in South East England. It lies roughly half-way between Maidstone and Hastings, about southeast of central London. The smaller settlements of Sissin ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. Englund is best known for playing the villain Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise. Englund has received multiple accolades and honors, incl ...

taught one summer at the theater school.

Iconography

The Archer, the symbol of Cranbrook school, is based on an episode in Book V (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) of the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'', by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, 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 The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian 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 George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was known for " participat ...

's non-fiction account of his faux tryout as quarterback for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in 1963 was set in large measure at Cranbrook (where the Lions trained from 1957 through 1974). *

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's character, Rabbit, in the 2002 film '' 8 Mile'' mentions Cranbrook in a rap battle with Papa Doc (portrayed by

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. He gained wide recognition for portraying Sam Wilson / Falcon / Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with the film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier ...

) 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 Edmund Valentine White III (January 13, 1940 – June 3, 2025) was an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer, and essayist. A pioneering figure in LGBTQ and especially gay literature after the Stonewall riots, he wrote with ra ...

´s autobiographical novel '' A Boy's Own Story''. *

Lisa Birnbach Lisa R. Birnbach (born 1957/1958) is an author best known for co-authoring ''The Official Preppy Handbook'', which spent 38 weeks at number one on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list in 1980. Early life and education Birnbach was born to a A ...

makes note of Cranbrook in ''

The Official Preppy Handbook ''The Official Preppy Handbook'' (1980) is a Satire, satirical reference guide edited by Lisa Birnbach and written by Jonathan Roberts (writer), Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Birnbach. It discusses an aspect of North Amer ...

'' and ''True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World''.

Notable faculty

Dave Barney David Ellsworth Barney (born January 5, 1932) is an American educator and swimming coach. In 1967, he was named head of the senior school at Albuquerque Academy, where he coached the track and field team, and taught sixth-grade English. He est ...

(1960s), English teacher, head coach for ice hockey and baseball, assistant coach for football * George Laskowski (1970s-1990s), whose

science fiction fanzine A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" ...

'' Lan's Lantern'' won a

Hugo Award for Best Fanzine The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...

Notable alumni

Cranbrook has many notable alumni, including designer

Florence Knoll Florence Marguerite Knoll Bassett ( Schust; May 24, 1917 – January 25, 2019) was an American architect, interior designer, furniture designer, and entrepreneur who has been credited with revolutionizing office design and bringing modernist de ...

, former U.S. Senator

Alan K. Simpson Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican Senate whip from 198 ...

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Pete Dawkins Peter Miller Dawkins (born March 8, 1938) is an American business executive and former college football player, hockey player, military officer, and political candidate. Dawkins attended the United States Military Academy, where he played as a ...

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and militar ...

whistleblower

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931June 16, 2023) was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released th ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Senator and 2012 presidential candidate

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

and his wife Ann Romney (née Davies), Congresswoman

Elissa Slotkin Elissa Blair Slotkin ( ; born July 10, 1976) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Michigan. From 2019 to 2025, she served as the Unite ...

, columnist

Michael Kinsley Michael E. Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist and commentator. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on '' Crossfire''. Early life and ...

, Sun Microsystems founder

Scott McNealy Scott McNealy (born November 13, 1954) is an American businessman. He is most famous for co-founding the computer technology company Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Bill Joy, and Andy Bechtolsheim. In 2004, while still at Sun ...

, co-founder of

Pandora Radio Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by the broadcasting corporation Sirius XM that is based in Oakland, California in the United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the " Music Genome Proje ...

Tim Westergren, former professional soccer player

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander Lalas (; born June 1, 1970) is an American former soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where ...

, Lisa Frank, actress and Tony award winner

Renée Elise Goldsberry Renée Elise Goldsberry (born January 2, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Known for her roles on stage and screen she has received a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. S ...

and actress Selma Blair.

Athletics

Cranbrook Kingswood participates in MHSAA Division 3

Gallery

File:Cranbrook0064.JPG, Covered walkway File:Cranbrook Educational Community.jpg, Natatorium File:Kingswood.JPG, Kingswood School Building File:S7300157.JPG, The school seen from a football field in winter File:S7300105.JPG, Dining Hall File:Cranbrook School Dining Hall.jpg, Dining Hall File:Cranbrook983.JPG, Hallway to Keppel Gymnasium