Pinewood Preparatory School
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Founded in 1952, Pinewood Preparatory School is an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
,
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
,
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 ...
day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...
located in
Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, South Carolina, Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley County, South Carolina, Berkeley and Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston ...
, United States. It is jointly accredited by the
Southern Association of Independent Schools The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), founded in 1953, is a U.S.-based voluntary regional accrediting association of more than 380 independent elementary and secondary schools with a combined enrollment of more than 220,000 ...
and the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...
. It holds membership in the Palmetto Association of Independent Schools and the South Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (SCISAA). Pinewood admits academically qualified students without regard to race, creed, color, sex or national origin. Pinewood is a member of the Network of Complementary Schools, a unique organization of 26 public and private schools, located in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, which organizes and sponsors individual student exchanges among member schools. Each school in the network has a unique and unusual program or programs. Students who visit another network school have an opportunity to explore career options, focus on scientific disciplines, learn more about social institutions, pursue artistic interests, and learn about different lifestyles and cultures.


History

Pinewood School was founded in 1952 by Henrietta M. Allan of Summerville. She served as Pinewood's Head of School for twenty years until her death in 1972. The original Pinewood campus was located on the grounds of the Historic Brokaw Mansion on South Main Street in the Summerville Historic District. For many years, the Pinewood campus was home to boarding students from New England and the Middle Atlantic states as well as local students from the Charleston area. During this time, Pinewood also owned and operated a summer school and camp in the
Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's bo ...
near
Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...
. For its first 40 years, Pinewood was a kindergarten and primary school (K4-8) with a small ninth and tenth grade. After completing studies usually in either the eighth or tenth grade, Pinewood students transferred to Charleston area high schools or to other independent schools around the country. After Allan's death, William E. McIntosh served as Head of School until 1980. From 1973 until 1977, Pinewood's student body grew from 184 students to 390 students. In 1980, Pinewood merged with The Summerville Academy and re-located to its present campus from downtown Summerville. Beginning in 1981, William S. Coursey, III, served as Head of School for fourteen years, a tenure second in length only to Henrietta Allan. During the Coursey era, the high school grades and athletic program were added and the school was renamed Pinewood Preparatory School.


Pinewood School

Henrietta Allan was born September 3, 1914, a daughter of Cantwell F. Muckenfuss and Vashti Daniel Muckenfuss, a school teacher. She was a graduate of
Winthrop College Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...
with extensive postgraduate work at Columbia College,
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, and
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
. In 1951, Allan contracted tuberculosis and went to the Will Rogers Institute in Saranac Lake, New York, to recover. During this time, she developed the idea of starting a school with her mother as a key member of the teaching staff. She and her husband Stephen Ford Allan of Summerville acquired the Brokaw Mansion and opened Pinewood School in 1952 with 52 students in grades 1–8. In 1955, the first "graduating class" of the following eighth graders received their certificates: Elizabeth Barshay, Beryl Anne Lanneau, Andrea Niederhof, Mark H. Taylor Jr., Sandra Varney, Ellen Walker, and Mary Elizabeth Willis. In these days, Pinewood School "graduates" completed their high school education at local public and independent schools or they went off to boarding school. As it grew in numbers and reputation during the 1950s and 60s, Pinewood School added a pre-school, grades 9 and 10, a boarding department, and a summer school in the Adirondacks. While pursuing graduate work each summer at
Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...
, Allan became a pioneer in the study of children with high intelligence who were unable to fulfill their educational potential due to "perceptual problems" later more commonly known as
Learning Disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty ...
. In 1970, she chartered a sister school, Reading Research, Inc., that operated next door to Pinewood for the next decade. Reading Research provided students with learning disabilities with small classes, close supervision, and a strategic curriculum designed to allow its students to transfer to Pinewood's college preparatory program. When Mrs. Allan died of cancer in October 1972, Mr. Allan persuaded Summerville businessman Thomas W. Bailey and Charleston businessman Richardson M. Hanckel to organize Pinewood's first Board of Trustees. In April 1973, the new board named William E. McIntosh, who was then dean of students at nearby Trident Technical College, as Pinewood's second Head of School.


Summerville Academy

In 1968, a small group of local residents was banding together to start another independent school in Summerville. The prime movers in launching the new school were J. Taliaferro Taylor, III, M.D., a family physician, and James D. Martin, a lumber company president. Their goal was to form a school that would offer college preparatory curriculum through 12th grade plus athletics and other extracurricular activities not available at Pinewood School. The Summerville Academy opened in 1969 in the old Miles house across from Azalea Park on South Main Street with 51 students in grades 1–9. Hillyer Rudisill, III served as founding headmaster. He had an A.B. degree from
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
and an M.A. from the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
, and had been the founding headmaster of Charleston Collegiate School, then known as Sea Island Academy, and of St. John's Christian Academy, then known as Lord Berkeley Academy. As the academy began to outgrow its house on South Main Street, Hillyer Rudisill began looking for land to construct a new campus. He convinced the Board to purchase a farm on Old Orangeburg Road northwest of Summerville. In 1974, The academy opened its doors on its new campus which now serves as the heart of Pinewood Preparatory School's campus.


Heads of School


Trustee Board Chairs


Athletics

In 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010, Pinewood was awarded the James C. Williams Jr. President's Cup by SCISAA for fielding the best overall athletic program among South Carolina independent schools. In recent years, the Panthers have won SCISAA championships in baseball (2009 and 2012), boys' basketball (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), girls' basketball (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013), competition cheer (2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013), boys' cross country (2014), girls' cross country (2012, 2013 and 2014), boys' golf (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011), girls' golf (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013), boys' soccer (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), girls' soccer (2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015), speed and strength (2005, 2010, 2012 and 2015), sporting clays (2013, 2016), boys' swimming (2004), girls' swimming (2005 and 2006) and boys' tennis (2007). Pinewood also fields competitive teams in football, volleyball, wrestling, girls' lacrosse, girls' tennis, and equestrian.


SCISA Championship Teams

*Boys' basketball 1993, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *Boys' soccer 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *Boys' golf 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Baseball 2009, 2012 *Boys' swimming 2003, 2004 *Boys' tennis 1993, 2007 *Boys' cross country 2014 *Competition cheer 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 *Girls' basketball 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 *Girls' cross country 2011, 2013, 2014 *Girls' golf 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 *Girls' soccer 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 *Girls' swimming 2003, 2005, 2006 *Speed and strength 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015 *Sporting clays 2013, 2016 *Volleyball 1992,1994, 2003


Notable alumni

*
Chuck Eidson Charles Patrick Eidson Jr. (born October 10, 1980), commonly known as Chuck Eidson, is an American former professional basketball player. He is 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) tall and he played mainly at the small forward position. He could also play a ...
, professional basketball player *
Blake Hall Blake Hall is a country house within the civil parish of Bobbingworth, to the north-west of Chipping Ongar, in the county Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, and its park and ...
, basketball coach * Milton Jennings, professional basketball player *
Jalen Slawson Jalen Brooks Slawson (born October 22, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Osceola Magic of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Furman Paladins. Slawson is the last player born in the 1990s to be selecte ...
, professional basketball player * Ryan Steed, professional football player


External links


Pinewood Preparatory School"Headmaster puts mark on Pinewood"
{{authority control Private high schools in South Carolina Private middle schools in South Carolina Private elementary schools in South Carolina Schools in Dorchester County, South Carolina Preparatory schools in South Carolina Summerville, South Carolina