The Blake School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, coeducational,

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

PK12 college preparatory day school, established in 1900. Blake is located on three campuses around the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

area of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

: the upper school (9–12) is in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

; administration offices, middle school (6–8) is in Hopkins, Minnesota, and half of the lower school is also in

Hopkins, Minnesota Hopkins is a small suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, located west of Minneapolis. Hopkins was the headquarters of Minneapolis-Moline, which was a large manufacturer of tractors and agricultural equipment in the United ...

connected to the middle school; and the other half of the lower school is in

Wayzata, Minnesota Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside lo ...

History

During the early 20th century, two schools were founded in

to prepare

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s for elite

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s in the Northeast: the Blake School for boys and Northrop Collegiate School for girls. A third school, Highcroft Country Day School serving students of both sexes, was incorporated during the migration to Minneapolis suburbs. In 1974, the three schools merged to become the Blake Schools, with its first coeducational class graduating in 1975.

The Blake School

In 1907, William M. Blake established the Blake School, a private, preparatory school for boys, in Minneapolis. Three years later, Charles C. Bovey, a local businessman, wanted to reform Blake, and put it on the same plane as Eastern preparatory schools. With help from William Blake, new Board of Trustees Chairman Charles Bovey asked sixteen other local business leaders to contribute $2,500 each towards the school's first capital drive. In 1911, these original

guarantors In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pa ...

hired Charles B. Newton, a

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

alumnus, to replace William Blake as

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

. Newton envisioned a school "not only for the wealthy, but for the worthy." The school incorporated on May 5, 1911, with all but two guarantors serving on the Board of Trustees. In 1912, their pooled resources enabled the construction of a new building in suburban

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

, with the site, now known as Blake Campus, being the current home of the middle school and one of the two lower school campuses.

The Northrop Collegiate School

In 1900, Zulema A. Ruble, a

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

alumna, and Carrie Bartlett established Graham Hall, a private school for girls, in Minneapolis. In 1914, a group of Minneapolis leaders purchased Graham Hall and incorporated it as Northrop Collegiate School. In 1917, the school relocated within Minneapolis, with the site, now known as Northrop Campus, being the current home of the upper school campus. 1918NorthropFieldHockey

The Highcroft Country Day School

In 1958, Sage Cowles, wife of

John Cowles, Jr. John Cowles Jr. (May 27, 1929 – March 17, 2012) was an American editor and publisher, son of John Cowles Sr. (1898–1983). Cowles sat on the boards of directors of the Associated Press and Columbia University's Pulitzer Prizes and had be ...

, along with two friends, established Highcroft Country Day School, a private, coeducational,

K-9 school in

Wayzata Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is situated along the northern shore of Lake Minnetonka about west of Minneapolis. Known for its small-town character and lakeside lo ...

. Highcroft was designed to provide students in the far western suburbs (at the time) of the

with an education near home. In 1960, the school building was constructed on land purchased and donated to the school, part of which was the former Highcroft estate in Wayzata, with the site, now known as Highcroft Campus, being the current home of the other lower school campus.

Preservation and present

In addition to retaining the original sites and all original buildings of the three schools as part of the campuses of The Blake School, the school also carries on other traditions, such as: * from the Blake School for the boys – strong speech and debate programs, which are still maintained as an ongoing graduation requirement * from Northrop Collegiate School – strong drama program, mascot of bears, along with the school color of blue * from Highcroft Country Day School – growing athletic program for both boys and girls, along with school color of green. The current head of school is Dr. Anne Staveny. Blake alumni have held and currently hold various positions in government. Graduates from Blake have included: 2 U.S.

Governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, 4

United States Senators The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, 3 members of The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, and 8 members of the

Minnesota State Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

Academics

The school serves approximately 1,400 students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade, with an average classroom size of 15–16 students, and average graduating class size of 130. The school's student-adult ratio is 9:1. It takes 22 credits to graduate from The Blake School, with a minimum course load of five courses each semester. The Blake School also offers numerous global citizenship programs.

Accreditation

Blake is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), and is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

(NAIS),

The College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

, National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), and the

Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...

Recognition

Blake has received numerous accolades in recent years, including: *

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

–

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94 *

– "Exemplary

AP English Literature and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition (also known as Senior AP English, AP Lit, APENG, or AP English IV) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United State ...

Programs", 2007 p. 32 * ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' – "How the Schools Stack Up" (ranking of 41 for high schools with the best record of graduates attending eight top universities), 2007 *

Character Education Partnership Character.org is a nonprofit organization that encourages people of all ages to practice good ethical values. Formerly known as the Character Education Partnership, it was founded in 1993. Today, Character.org creates and shares resources that s ...

– National School of Character, 2009 * ''Mpls St.Paul Magazine'' – in school diversity and inclusion efforts, 2010 * ''MN Monthly Magazine'' – for leadership training of its students, 2012
Built to Lead
In 2011, Blake won the Minnesota Middle School Science Bowl, and was a competing school in the U.S. Department of Energy's

National Science Bowl The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a high school and middle school science knowledge competition, using a quiz bowl format, held in the United States. A buzzer system similar to those seen on popular television game shows is used to signal an an ...

,, pp. 17 and 23 winning the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Race portion. In 2015, it won the Department of Energy's Minnesota High School Science Bowl and proceeded to compete at the national level in Washington D.C. Blake is also home to one of the most active and successful high school

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

programs in the entire country, having won several prestigious national championships, including the

National Speech and Debate Association The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

National Tournament, the National Debate Coaches Association National Tournament, and the Tournament of Champions. They are also the first school to qualify debaters to the Tournament of Champions in every event. Every December, Blake hosts the John Edie Debate Tournament, one of the largest regular-season speech and debate tournaments in the country.

Athletics

Blake competes in the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC) and formerly in the

Tri-Metro Conference The Tri-Metro Conference is a MSHSL-sanctioned athletic conference composed of schools found in the Twin Cities metro area. The conference competes in the majority of sports offered in the MSHSL. Most teams in the Tri-Metro compete in basketball a ...

, which is part of the

Minnesota State High School League The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics an ...

. The school athletic teams are named the Blake Bears. The school offers twenty-eight sports, and fields over fifty athletic teams. The school also recognizes four club sports, including Ultimate Frisbee, Equestrian Team, Sailing, and the Stepps Dance Team. They are also recognized for having their hockey team in a cameo for the 1996 Disney movie '' D3: The Mighty Ducks'' when the movie was shot on set at Blake's Hopkins campus hockey arena; they came from behind down 9–0 to tie the Ducks 9-9, with 9 third period goals.

History

Blake won the

Challenge Cup, which awards schools based on their success in section and state fine arts and athletics tournaments, in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, – more than any other school in state history – and was runner-up in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and placed third in 2011. In addition, many Blake alumni go on to play sports at the collegiate level, and some have even been drafted by professional sports franchises in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, NFL, and

MLB 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), ...

Notable alumni

A. J. Jackson A. J. Jackson (born Alexander Jackson) is an American filmmaker, musician, songwriter, record producer, and perhaps best known as the lead singer for the band Saint Motel. He is known for his enthusiastic stage performances. Early life Jackson ...

(2002) - Lead Singer of

Saint Motel In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...

(1965) –

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

, 40th

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

, heir to

Dayton's Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although it ...

and

Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

, first husband of

Alida Rockefeller Messinger Alida Ferry Rockefeller Messinger (born 1948) is an American philanthropist and the youngest daughter of John Davison Rockefeller III. Early life and family Messinger was born in 1948. She is the youngest daughter of John Davison Rockefeller III ...

* Dean Phillips (1987) -

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District (2019-present), American businessman *

Kelly Morrison Kelly Morrison (born February 2, 1969) is an American doctor and politician. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,(DFL), Morrison has been a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. With the Democrats i ...

(1987) - Doctor and State Representative in the Minnesota House of Representatives * Charles Baxter (1965) – author of National Book Award nominated ''The Feast of Love'' (2000) *

Dani Cameranesi Danielle Cameranesi (born June 3, 1995) is an American women's ice hockey forward, currently playing for the Minnesota section of the PWHPA. She made her debut for the US national women's team at the 2014 4 Nations Cup in Kamloops, British Colum ...

(2013) – Forward for U.S. women's hockey team at

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Jack Dalrymple John Stewart Dalrymple III (born October 16, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 32nd Governor of North Dakota from 2010 to 2016. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th Lieutenant Govern ...

(1966) – former Governor of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

* Tom Davis (1970) –

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning comedy writer and performer * David L. Downie (1979) - Scholar of global environmental politics *

David T. Ellwood David T. Ellwood is an American economist and university administrator. He served as the dean of Harvard Kennedy School and as the Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. Early life Ellwood grew up Minnesota. His fathe ...

(1971) – Dean of

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

(1969) –

from

, satirist, comedian, author, screenwriter, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' television performer, political commentator, radio host *

Dave Goldberg David Bruce Goldberg (October 2, 1967 – May 1, 2015) was an American management consultant and businessman. He was the founder of LAUNCH Media and the CEO of SurveyMonkey. He was married to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Early life and edu ...

(1985) – businessman, CEO of

Survey Monkey Momentive Inc. (formerly SurveyMonkey Inc.) is an experience management company that offers cloud-based software in brand insights, market insights, product experience, employee experience, customer experience, online survey development, and a s ...

Poppy Harlow Poppy Harlow (born Katharine Julia Harlow; May 2, 1982) is an American journalist, best known for her reporting at CNN and Forbes.com. She is an anchor of CNN This Morning and is based at CNN's New York news bureau. She was previously co-anchor of ...

(2001), p. 37 –

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

reporter * Michael Ankeny (2009) - Alpine

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

* Thomas B. Heffelfinger (1966), p. 30 – former

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

of Minnesota *

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...

(1939) –

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning director of

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...

Steve Kelley Steve Kelley may refer to: *Steve Kelley (politician) (born 1953), Minnesota politician *Steve Kelley (cartoonist), editorial cartoonist, comic strip creator, comedian, and writer *Steve Kelley, co-host of Canadian reality TV show ''Junk Brothers'' ...

(1971) – Minnesota State Senator, 2000 U.S. Senate candidate, attorney * Eleanor de Laittre – artist *

Katrina Lake Katrina Lake (born December 24, 1982) is an American businesswoman who is the Founder and former CEO of Stitch Fix, a fashion-based subscription service. Stitch Fix was established in 2011 in San Francisco and went public in 2017. In 2017, Lake ...

– CEO of

Stitch Fix Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service in the United States and United Kingdom. It uses recommendation algorithms and data science to personalize clothing items based on size, budget and style. The company was founded in 2011 and had a ...

* John Hugh MacMillan – businessman * Whitney MacMillan (1947) – CEO of

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...

Marcia McNutt Marcia Kemper McNutt (born February 19, 1952) is an American geophysicist and the 22nd president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States. Previously, she served as editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal ''Science'' fro ...

(1970) – president

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Kent Patterson Kent Patterson (born September 15, 1989) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Lake Erie Monsters. P ...

(2007) -

player * Marcus Peacock (1978) – former Deputy Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency *

Arthur Phillips Arthur Phillips (born April 23, 1969) is an American novelist. His books include ''Prague'' (2002), ''The Egyptologist'' (2004), ''Angelica'' (2007), ''The Song Is You'' (2009), '' The Tragedy of Arthur'' (2011), and ''The King at the Edge of the ...

(1986) - novelist, screenwriter * Robert M. Pirsig (1943) - philosopher, author of '' Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values'' (1974) *

Jim Warden James Warden (born June 22, 1954) is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. High school career Warden attended The Blake School (Minneapolis) for his junior and senior years, where he earned all-state honors. College career At the 1975 NCA ...

(1972) - Goaltender for U.S. men's hockey team at

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

J.T. Wyman James Thomas Wyman (born February 27, 1986) is an Americans, American former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playi ...

(2004) –

player

References

External links

Official School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake School (Minneapolis, Minnesota) The Educational institutions established in 1900 Education in Minneapolis High schools in Minneapolis Buildings and structures in Minneapolis Preparatory schools in Minnesota Private elementary schools in Minnesota Private middle schools in Minnesota Private high schools in Minnesota Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota 1900 establishments in Minnesota