Ransom Everglades School

History

Paul C. Ransom, an educator and New York lawyer, opened Pine Knot Camp in 1896 as a school for boys in Coconut Grove. In 1902 Ransom constructed a campus in the Adirondacks of New York to create the Adirondack-Florida School, a boarding school in which students alternated between the Florida and New York campuses during the academic year. Sources describe the school's curriculum as emphasizing experiential learning. The school suspended operations during World War II; after the war the school reopened in 1947. In 1949 the Adirondack campus was shut down and the school continued in Coconut Grove as the Ransom School for Boys. The Ransom School for Boys changed from a boarding to a day school in 1972; Its counterpart, the Everglades School for Girls, began in 1955 founded by Marie B. Swenson. The schools merged and adopted the current name in 1974.

Ransom Everglades has partnerships with organizations such as Breakthrough Miami, St. Alban's Child Enrichment Center, Booker T. Washington High School, ARC of South Florida, MUVE and the Reclamation Project. After an earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, students at Ransom Everglades raised almost $30,000 in relief funds.

Campuses

The school occupies two campuses. The "Upper School" (Ransom Campus) serves grades nine through twelve and is located on Main Highway on the shore of Biscayne Bay, the site of the original Pine Knot Camp. Parks and Munroe describe the school as the oldest in South Florida still operating on its original site. The original site of the Everglades School for Girls is now the "Middle School" campus (Everglades Campus), serving grades six through eight and located on South Bayshore Drive, about one and a half miles from the Upper School.

Three early twentieth century buildings still stand on the Ransom campus. The pagoda was built in 1902. Once the whole school, the building serves as the Head of School's office, an event and study space, and faculty offices. In 1973, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Like the Pagoda, the "Ransom Cottage" is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1906, the cottage has been used as the infirmary, the Headmaster's residence, and the band room. Restored in 1998, now the cottage is a conference room and meeting space. In June 2016, Ransom Everglades acquired the La Brisa property adjacent to the Ransom Campus. The 6.9-acre campus includes a restored 1920s home that sits 23 feet above sea level. Then-head of school Penny Townsend stated that the purchase would allow the school to improve its facilities and add additional green space on the waterfront property.

Athletics

The school has an athletic program with over 70 teams among 18 interscholastic sports. Ransom Everglades has fielded state championship teams in water polo (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019), soccer (2015, 2016), tennis (2014, 2018), and volleyball (2013).

Notable alumni

• Butch Brickell, racing driver and stuntman
• Aileen Cannon, federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Chris Cavanaugh, swimmer
• Marc Fein, sports broadcaster
• Rachel Feinstein, artist
• Jeff Lindsay, writer and playwright
• Pamela Golbin, curator, author and fashion historian
• Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, documentary filmmaker and portrait photographer
• Lillian Guerra, historian and academic
• Ashleigh Johnson, water polo player
• Mike Malinin, drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls
• Robert Malval, Prime Minister of Haiti
• Jeanine Mason, actress and dancer
• Andres Pedroso, tennis player and coach
• Jay Pierrepont Moffat, diplomat, historian and statesman
• Dan Otero, baseball player
• Arlene Sierra, composer
• Sam Singer, basketball player
• Laurinda Hope Spear, architect and landscape architect
• Devi Sridhar, public health researcher and academic
• Jordi Vilasuso, actor
• Carlos Watson, television host and education advocate
• Sloan Wilson, writer

References

;

Bibliography

• Blanc, Giulio, editor. Ransom Everglades; Reflections of a School, 1893-1978. Miami: Banyan Books (1979)
• Headley, Gwyn (1996) Architectural Follies in America.
• Klepser, Carolyn and Arva Moore Parks (2002) Miami Then and Now (Then & Now). Thunder Bay Press,
• Liles, Harriet, editor. Miami Diary 1896. (no place, no publisher) (1996)
• Lovejoy, Clarence Earle (1963) Lovejoy's Prep School Guide
• Peterson's (2008) Private Secondary Schools 2008.
• Pincus, Laura and Arva Moore Parks. (2003) Honor & Excellence: A Century Of Ransom Everglades School. Centennial Press,
• Parks, Avra Moore and Munroe, Ralph (2004) The Forgotten Frontier: Florida Through the Lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe.
• Plasencia, Alex (2011) "A History of West Coconut Grove from 1925: Slum Clearance, Concrete Monsters, and the Dichotomy of East and West Coconut Grove". Clemson University: Tiger Prints https://web.archive.org/web/20161127220454/http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2117&context=all_theses

References

1. "Affording RE".
2. Klepser (2002) p.59
3. "Ransom Everglades School » About RE". Ransom Everglades School.
4. "Ransom Everglades School – NAIS Directory". NAIS.
5. "School Curriculum » Accreditations & Memberships". Ransom Everglades School.
6. "Ransom Everglades School – Memberships". Ransom Everglades School.
7. "MTC Members". Mastery Transcript Consortium.
8. Klepser (2002) p.58
9. Parks and Munroe (2004) p. 131
10. Klepser (2002) p.58
11. Klepser (2002) p. 59
12. Blanc (1979) pp. 58-59 and p. 84.
13. Blanc (1979) p. 95.
14. Lovejoy (1969) p.41
15. (August 2025). "Breakthrough Miami".
16. (January 15, 2016). "Exchange Program Allows South Florida Students to Trade Places". 2017 NBCUniversal Media, LLC.
17. (November 13, 2013). "Swoop-A-Thon at Ransom to raise funds for The Arc". Coconut Grove Grapevine.
18. "Reclamation Project - Ransom Everglades School". Xavier Cortada.
19. (March 9, 2010). "Ransom Everglades Students Applauded For Generosity To Haiti".
20. "City of Miami Planning Department".
21. [http://www.historicpreservationmiami.com/pagoda.html Historic Preservation Miami web site article on the Ransom School pagoda]
22. (January 28, 1999). "Cottage Beaten, Held for Ransom".
23. (June 21, 2016). "Ransom Everglades School buys one of South Florida's most expensive properties".
24. (17 June 2016). "Ransom Everglades Scoops $40M La Brisa, Coconut Grove's Priciest Listing". Vox Media.
25. Peterson's (2008) p.482
26. (April 16, 2016). "Ransom Everglades girls win third consecutive water polo state title".
27. (May 11, 2019). "2019 Boys & Girls Water Polo Championships Matchups".
28. Jackson, Michael. (February 11, 2015). "Ransom Everglades wins first boys' soccer state championship".
29. (February 11, 2016). "Ransom Everglades wins first boys' soccer state championship".
30. (April 24, 2014). "Ransom Everglades Wins Florida Class A State Championship".
31. (2 May 2018). "Ransom Everglades star clinches state singles, doubles titles".
32. (November 14, 2014). "Ransom Everglades rules state in Class 4A volleyball".
33. [http://www.blogofdeath.com/archives/000417.html Butch Brickell obituary] {{webarchive. link. (2011-01-04)
34. (September 12, 2022). "Trump-appointed judge at center of ex-president's FBI fight. Who is Aileen Cannon?". [[Miami Herald]].
35. "Dade's Top Swimming Effort, Boys", ''The Miami Herald'', Miami, Florida, March 29, 1977, pg. 44
36. "RE Log Spring 2022".
37. (25 September 2019). "Art Party Mania — Major Exhibition Openings Bring the Power Players Out in Dallas".
38. link. (2005-02-26)
39. "The Louvre's Pamela Golbin Talks Chanel's Rival, Madeleine Vionnet, at Wolfsonian".
40. Remington, Chris. (2019-06-27). "Coconut Grove Native Directs New Toni Morrison Documentary".
41. "Alumni Bios – From Dartmouth Alum to Faculty of Color: How the Liberal Arts Help Diversify the Profession". Dartmouth College.
42. "Ashleigh Johnson - Women's Senior National Team".
43. [http://daz.com/artists/Mike%20Malinin.html Daz biography for Mike Malinin] {{webarchive. link. (2011-07-23)
44. [http://fox.com/blogs/dance/2009/06/05/top-20-season-5-so-you-think-you-can-dance/ Official Season 5 So You Think You Can Dance Blog profiling the top 20 contestants] {{webarchive. link. (2009-06-11)
45. [http://myrealitytelevision.com/2009/06/sytycd-5-profile-spotlight-jeanine-mason/ My Reality Television article about Jeanine Mason]
46. "Andres Pedroso - 2000-01 - Men's Tennis".
47. Ransom-Everglades School. Alumni Directory 1981.
48. Blanc (1979) p. 42.
49. "Dan Otero Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
50. "Cardiff University biography for Arlene Sierra".
51. "Sam Singer".
52. (2025-04-07). "Maven of Miami Architecture".
53. Diaz, Madeline. (2002-12-10). "Student named youngest Rhodes Scholar". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
54. "Jordi Vilasuso biography at Soapcentral.com".
55. [http://www.law.stanford.edu/publications/stanford_lawyer/issues/74/sl74_FromSiliconValleyCNN.pdf Nee, Eric (2006) Stanford Lawyer Winter 2006 Issue] {{webarchive. link. (2007-06-09)