The Lovett School is a

coeducational 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 t ...

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 Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...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

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

located in north

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States.

History

In September 1926, Eva Edwards Lovett, an innovative educator who emphasized the development of the whole child, officially began the Lovett School with 20 boys and girls in first through third grades at a former home in Midtown Atlanta. By 1936, Lovett was able to become a true country day school, with a move to a wooded campus north of the city off West Wesley Road. In 1963, the Lovett School became the focus of a desegregation controversy when it rejected the applications of three black students, including Martin Luther King III. At the center of the debate were the school's ties to the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, which had been established in 1954. The national Episcopal Church had issued directives to its member dioceses to integrate their institutions; the Lovett School's refusal to do so placed the bishop of Atlanta, the Rt. Rev. Randolph Claiborne Jr., in a difficult situation. After a number of pickets at the school organized by the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity, the diocese and school attempted to resolve the situation by severing ties with each other. In later years, the school revised its admission policy with regards to race. Today, the school features many multicultural programs. In 1963,

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

contacted the school and asked if it had a racially nondiscriminatory admissions policy. When the school responded that it would admit a black student, her son,

Martin Luther King III Martin Luther King III (born October 23, 1957) is an American human rights activist, philanthropist and advocate. The oldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, King served as the 4t ...

applied. After King was rejected because of his race, the Episcopal Diocese distanced itself from the school By 1964, both the elementary and high schools were accredited by the Georgia Commission of Accreditation (and each year subsequently), and the Upper School was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Aggressive campus building projects continued through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, bringing to campus the Kilpatrick Stadium, Loridans House, Smith Natatorium, Vasser Woolley Library, Fuqua Center, Wallace Gym, Hite Wellness Center, and more. In the early 1980s, Lovett became one of the select groups of schools in the country that was invited to nominate seniors for the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia and the Morehead Scholarship at the University of North Carolina. In 1992, the school philosophy was reviewed and a mission statement was developed. The school also purchased more than of rainforest, known as Siempre Verde, in Ecuador for the purpose of establishing a research and education center. In 1995 Lovett began hosting Summerbridge Atlanta (now known as Breakthrough Atlanta), an academic enrichment program for middle school students from Atlanta's public schools. During the 1998–99 school year, the Lovett School Board of Trustees worked in earnest toward a new strategic plan. Working committees met to plan for the school's future in the areas of governance, educational environment, co-curricular programs, character education, inclusivity, faculty/staff, technology, facilities and endowment/development. The school was named an "independent school of distinction" in its Fall 1999 interim review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2000-01 and celebrated with such events as a history exhibition and a reunion for former alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the school. That year, Lovett also embarked on its 75th Anniversary Campaign to raise funds for a construction and improvement plan, which was designed to improve the quality of student and faculty life. The fundraising goal for Phase I of that project was $55 million. Phase II of the project was started in 2003 under new headmaster William S. Peebles IV. It was completed in 2009 and included a new middle school and community center. The school instituted its Character Pledge in 2000: "We, who are members of the Lovett community, seek to live lives of good character. We believe that good character grows from daily acts of honesty, respect, responsibility, and compassion. We pledge ourselves to develop these ideals with courage and integrity, striving to do what is right at all times." In 2017, the school announced that Meredyth Cole would replace retiring Headmaster William S. Peebles IV at the end of the 2017–18 school year.

Notable alumni

Brent Abernathy Michael Brent Abernathy (born September 23, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2003 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals, and again in 2005 for the ...

(1996),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

, 1995

Dial Award The Dial Award was presented annually by the Dial Corporation Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods, and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufa ...

winner,

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

, gold medalist in the 2000 Olympics (

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

) * David I. Adelman (1982), United States ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, 2010–2013. * Knox Culpepper (1981), record-holding

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the Georgia Bulldogs *

Wes Gordon Wes Gordon (born 1988) is an American fashion designer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Gordon was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Lovett School in Atlanta and graduated in 2005. He interned with Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford and after g ...

(2005), fashion designer *

Jeff Greenstein Jeff Greenstein is an American television writer, producer and director. Greenstein was the showrunner of ''Will & Grace'' and '' Dream On'', as well as on '' Partners'' and ''Getting Personal'', both of which he created. A member of the Writers ...

, television writer, producer, and director * Grant Haley (2014), NFL player *

Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on ''Queer as Folk'', '' Deadwood'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''The Secret Circle'' and ''Defiance''. He also starred ...

(1987), actor, '' Queer as Folk'', '' Vanished'', numerous movies and TV appearances *

Mary Louise Kelly Mary Louise Kelly is an American broadcaster and author. She anchors the daily news show ''All Things Considered'' on National Public Radio (NPR), and previously covered national security at the network. Prior to NPR she reported for CNN and the ...

(1989), broadcaster and author *

Shane Kimbrough Robert Shane Kimbrough (born June 4, 1967) is a retired United States Army officer and NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Kimbrou ...

(1985),

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

* Christine Lakin (1997), actress; played "Al" on ''Step By Step'' as a child *

Charlotte Laws Charlotte Anne Laws (Born May 11, 1960) is an American author, talk show host, animal rights advocate, anti-revenge porn activist, former Los Angeles politician, and actress (under the stage name Missy Laws). Laws is a former BBC News contribut ...

(1978), author, talk show host, former Los Angeles

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

advocate, anti- revenge porn activist (often called "the Erin Brockovich of revenge porn") * George Lombard (1994), Major League Baseball

Whit Marshall Thomas Whitfield Marshall (born January 6, 1973) is a former American football linebacker who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in ...

, NFL player * Read Montague (1978), neuroscientist and author *

Eric Nam Eric Nam (; born November 17, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality based in South Korea. Since his debut in 2013, he was named ''GQ Koreas Man of the Year in 2016'','' included on ''Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia ...

(2007), Korean-American singer, featured on ''Birth of a Great Star 2'' in 2012 *

Adam Nelson Adam McCright Nelson (born July 7, 1975) is an American shot putter and Olympic gold medalist. Nelson competed in three consecutive Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008. In addition to his gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Nelson won a silver me ...

(1993), silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics and gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics (

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

) *

Tivon Pennicott Tivon Pennicott is an American composer, orchestrator and tenor saxophonist. Of Jamaican parentage, he grew up in Marietta, Georgia, but moved to Miami, Florida, where he studied music at the University of Miami. On a visit in Los Angeles, he met a ...

(2004),

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning saxophonist * Miles Redd (1987), interior designer * Aaron Schunk (2016), baseball player *

Kabir Sehgal Kabir Sehgal is an American author, composer, producer, navy officer, military veteran, investment banker, and financial executive. He is the ''New York Times'' and ''Wall Street Journal'' bestselling author of twelve books. He has also won five ...

(2001), author and Grammy-winning producer * Mark Stringer (1982), conductor * Maggie Thrash (2003), author *

Liza Wieland Liza Wieland (born 1960) is an American novelist, short story writer and poet. Wieland has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, and the North Carolina Arts Council, and her work has b ...

(1978), author * Burke Whitman (1974), Major General, United States Marine Corps

References

External links

The Lovett School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett School Private K-12 schools in Atlanta Educational institutions established in 1926 1926 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)