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The Pembroke Hill School

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Coordinates: 39°02′06″N 94°36′22″W / 39.034925°N 94.606167°W / 39.034925; -94.606167
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The Pembroke Hill School
Logo of Pembroke Hill
Location
Map
Kansas City
,
Missouri

United States
Information
TypePrivate
MottoFreedom with Responsibility
Religious affiliation(s)Nonsectarian
Established1910 - Pembroke-Country Day (boys), 1913 - Sunset Hill (girls), 1984 - Pembroke Hill (coed)
HeadmasterDr. Steve Bellis
Faculty134[2]
Enrollment1,165[1]
Average class size14-22 students[1]
Student to teacher ratio11:1[2][3]
CampusUrban, two campuses
Color(s)Red & Blue
Athletics20 varsity, 13 junior varsity, numerous club[6]
Athletics conferenceMissouri State High School Activities Association
MascotRaider (Viking)
Websitewww.pembrokehill.org

The Pembroke Hill School (usually referred to as Pembroke Hill) is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private preparatory school for about 1,200 students in preschool through 12th grade, separated into four sections: preschool-2nd grade (primary school), 3rd-5th grade (lower school), 6th-8th grade (middle school), and 9th-12th grade (upper school). It is located on two campuses in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza.

History

Origin

File:Vassiehill.jpg
Vassie James Ward Hill, founder of The Pembroke Hill School

Vassie James Ward Hill, a prominent Kansas Citian and Vassar College graduate born in 1875, gained a considerable fortune upon the death of her first husband, Hugh Ward, a son of pioneer Seth E. Ward. She then married Albert Ross Hill, formerly president of the University of Missouri.

At the time, Kansas Citians of means commonly sent their children to boarding schools on the east coast. Hill did not want to send her daughter and three sons "back east." She believed they should be able to have an equal education in Kansas City. This led her to research the workings of college preparatory schools, especially the progressive education of the Country Day School movement.

In 1910, using funds from 12 Kansas City businessmen, Hill founded the Country Day School for boys, which accepted both day students and boarders. (Boarding ceased in the 1950s.) The initial enrollment was 20 students, but grew to 52 within three years. The first "country day school" in the Midwest, it sat on what is today Pembroke Hill's Ward Parkway Campus, to the west of the Country Club Plaza at the intersection of State Line Road.

Three years later, Ruth Carr Patton and Frances Matteson Bowersock joined with Hill to found the Sunset Hill School, named after Hill's favorite area on the Vassar campus. Sunset Hill was located on what today is Pembroke Hill's Wornall Campus, south of the Plaza. At the time of its founding, the campus overlooked the Kansas City Country Club (today Loose Park). It also includes a portion of the battlefield from the Battle of Westport.

In 1925, some educators and students left the Country Day School to form the Pembroke School for boys. Their endeavor failed amidst the Great Depression, and in the two schools re-merged in 1933 to form the Pembroke-Country Day School, keeping the Country Day School's original campus. It usually was referred to as "Pem-Day."

Merger

From the start, Sunset Hill and Pembroke-Country Day worked cooperatively. Often, teachers taught at both schools. For generations, many Kansas City families would send their boys to Pem-Day and their girls to Sunset Hill. School activities, such as plays and dances, often were combined, and Sunset Hill girls were cheerleaders for Pem-Day's athletic teams. In 1963, the schools began coeducational classes in upper level math, science, and languages.

In the early 1980s, the two schools began merger discussions, ultimately merging in 1984 to become the Pembroke Hill School. The class of 1985 elected to have separate graduation ceremonies. True coeducation began the next year. The former Sunset Hill campus became home to the primary and lower schools (then preschool through 6th grade), and the former Pem-Day campus became home to the middle and upper schools (then 7th grade through 12th grade).

Recent events

In 1988, Kansas City Magazine notoriously published an article titled "A High School on Easy Street", criticizing Pembroke Hill's students' allegedly "advantaged way of life."[7]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pembroke Hill completed a $50 million capital improvement project, which renovated both campuses. The Ward Parkway campus gained a new middle school building, Boocock Middle School (which now serves 6th-8th grades), a new upper school building, Jordan Hall, a new arts center, and a new library, the William T. Kemper Library.

In 1997, 1998, and 1999, Pembroke Hill's boys' basketball team won the Missouri Class 2A state title. In 2000, however, in a nationally-publicized scandal, the Missouri State High School Activities Association stripped Pembroke of the titles and placed the school on probation after the Kansas City Star revealed that promoter and AAU coach Myron Piggie had made cash payments to two of the school's star players, Kareem Rush and his brother JaRon Rush, to play on his "amateur" basketball team.[8][9][10][11][12] Piggie admitted to paying JaRon Rush $17,000 and Kareem Rush $2,300, after which the brothers "submitted false and fraudulent Student Athlete Statements to the universities where they were to play intercollegiate basketball", certifying that they had not been paid to play basketball.[12] As a result, the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Missouri found themselves subject to NCAA penalties for awarding athletic scholarships to non-amateurs.[12] On Piggie's 2002 appeal from his prison sentence and restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and tax evasion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found that Pembroke Hill had "sustained a loss of $10,733.89 in investigative costs and forfeiture of property as a result of" Piggie's conspiracy.[12]

Tuition and financial aid

Tuition and fees for the 2010-11 schoolyear range from $16,235 for students up to second grade to $18,950 for upper schoolers.[13] About 17 percent of students receive financial aid, totaling more than $1.7 million each year.[14]

In May 2007, the Malone Family Foundation, established by John C. Malone of Denver, Colorado, gave a $2 million grant to Pembroke's endowment, the largest single endowment gift in the school's history.[15] The gift was used to create the Malone Scholars Program to give need-based financial aid to highly qualified students who otherwise would qualify for at least 50 percent in financial aid.[15]

Assets and contributions

The school has assets of over $100 million and an endowment of more than $22 million.[16] It receives substantial contributions not only from a large percentage of its alumni base, but also from Hallmark Cards, Kansas City Southern Industries, Sprint, H&R Block, and other leading regional corporations.[16]

Accreditation

Pembroke Hill is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.[17] The school is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).[17]

Athletics

Pembroke Hill has a long athletic tradition.[18] Its colors are blue and red, its teams are known as the Raiders, and its mascot resembles a Viking raider. Pembroke is a member of the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

Pembroke Hill Raiders athletics logo

Championships

Today, the school is a perennial contender for or winner of Class 2 state championships in boys' golf, boys' tennis, boys' soccer, girls' golf, boys' lacrosse, and girls' tennis.[18]

In 2006 and 2007, the girls' basketball team won the Missouri Class 2 state title. The Raider lacrosse team won the 2009 Division II state championship, beating Eureka High School 6-5 after trailing 5-2 in the 4th quarter.[19] The boys' tennis team also won the 2009 Division II state championship, sweeping all teams up until the final, where Pembroke won 5-2.

Rivalries

Pembroke Hill has cross-state athletic rivalries with MICDS, Whitfield School, and John Burroughs School, both in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

Sports offered

For girls, Pembroke Hill offers:

Fall Winter Spring
Cheerleading (V) Basketball (6,7,8, 9, JV, V) Soccer (6,7,8,JV/V)[20]
Cross Country (7/8, JV, V) Cheerleading (V) Swimming (JV, V)
Field hockey (6,7/8, C, JV, V)[21] Dance team Track and field (6,7/8, JV, V)
Golf (JV, V)
Tennis (JV, V)[22]
Volleyball (6,8, JV, V)

For boys, Pembroke Hill offers:

Fall Winter Spring
Cross Country (7/8, JV, V) Basketball (8, 9, JV, V) Baseball (JV/V)[23]
Football (7/8, JV, V)[24] Wrestling (7/8, JV, V) Golf (JV/V
Soccer (JV, V)[20] Lacrosse (JV/V)
Swimming (JV, V) Tennis (JV, V)[22]
Cheerleading (V) Track and field (7/8, JV, V)

In the past, Pembroke also has participated in softball, rugby union,and ice hockey. Additionally, the lower school campus has facilities for racquetball, and the upper school campus is one of only three locations in Kansas City containing squash courts.[25]

Academics

Pembroke prides itself on its strong academics. The average Pembroke student takes classes that would be considered advanced in a different school. For example, the standard math curriculum in the middle and upper schools is as follow: pre-algebra in sixth grade, algebra 1 in seventh and eighth grade, geometry in ninth grade, algebra 2 in tenth grade, pre-calculus in eleventh grade, and calculus in twelfth grade.

College Advising

Every student is assigned a college advisor during his or her junior year. The college advisor works one-on-one with the student throughout the college application process. Advisors help student create a college list, answer questions about colleges, and assist students with their application materials. The college counseling office is always open to answer questions and help students.

Notable alumni

Government and politics

Media and the arts

Science and technology

Education

Business

Sports

References

  1. ^ a b Pembroke Hill FAQ
  2. ^ a b Pembroke Hill Profile
  3. ^ Pembroke Hill At A Glance
  4. ^ Pembroke Hill Upper School
  5. ^ Peterson's Guide to Private Secondary Schools, 2008: "The Pembroke Hill School"
  6. ^ Pembroke Hill Teams and Schedules
  7. ^ The Kansas City Library: Catalogue
  8. ^ ESPN: "Piggie indicted on 11 counts in Kansas City" (April 14, 2000)
  9. ^ "Summer league basketball coach indicted on fraud," CNN and Sports Illustrated, April 13, 2000
  10. ^ "Basketball Brief: And This Little Piggie Went To Jail", The Daily Bruin, June 1, 2001
  11. ^ "Beyond Blood", ESPN Magazine, February 4, 2001
  12. ^ a b c d United States v. Piggie, 303 F.3d 923 (8th Cir. 2002)
  13. ^ The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Tuition and Fees
  14. ^ The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Tuition/Financial Aid
  15. ^ a b "Pembroke Hill gets $2 million", The Kansas City Star, May 31, 2007
  16. ^ a b Nonprofit Organization Profile
  17. ^ a b The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): PHS at a Glance
  18. ^ a b The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Athletics
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ a b The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Soccer
  21. ^ The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Field Hockey
  22. ^ a b The Pembroke Hill School (Official Website): Tennis
  23. ^ Pembroke Hill Baseball (Official Website)
  24. ^ Pembroke Hill Football (Official Website)
  25. ^ United States Squash Racquets Association: Missouri facility locations
  26. ^ "President Names 2 for Tax Court", The New York Times, April 24, 1957
  27. ^ The Pembroke Hill School: 2008 Award Recipients
  28. ^ The Pembroke Hill School, Horizons p.28 (Summer 2008)
  29. ^ IMDB: Elizabeth Craft
  30. ^ IMDB: 2002 Academy Awards
  31. ^ "The King of Kansas City", Lawrence Journal-World, August 28, 2005
  32. ^ a b The Pembroke Hill School, Horizons p. 31 (Summer 2007)
  33. ^ Rob Eisele, "Barnett Helzberg to speak at Jewell", William Jewell College, March 21, 2007
  34. ^ Funding Universe: Jordan Industries, Inc.
  35. ^ St. Louis Commerce Magazine: Cover Story, November 2002
  36. ^ a b Rick Mann (University of Missouri-Kansas City), Perspectives pp. 22-23 (Spring 2007

39°02′06″N 94°36′22″W / 39.034925°N 94.606167°W / 39.034925; -94.606167

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