Ransom Everglades School

Ransom Everglades School is an independent, non-profit, co-educational, college-preparatory day school serving grades six to twelve in Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida, United States. It was formed with the merger in 1974 of the Everglades School for Girls and the Ransom School for Boys.^[2]

Ransom Everglades School
Location
3575 Main Highway Coconut Grove , Florida 33133
Information
Type	Private, Independent
Motto	Honor and Excellence
Founded	1903
Founder	Paul C. Ransom & Marie B. Swenson.
Head of school	Rachel Rodriguez (Interim)
Faculty	242
Teaching staff	146
Employees	67
Grades	6-12
Gender	Co-educational
Age range	11-19
Enrollment	1147 students (2022–23)
Average class size	14.3
Campuses	Ransom Campus (Upper School), Everglades Campus (Middle School)
Campus type	Suburban
Colors	Hunter green and Carolina blue
Athletics	Football, Sailing, Crew, Water Polo, Swimming, Cross Country, Track & Field, Lacrosse, Tennis, Baseball, Softball, Wrestling, Basketball, Volleyball, Golf, Soccer,
Team name	Raiders
Rival	Gulliver Preparatory School
Accreditation	SAIS/SACS
Publication	The Dell & Cannon
Newspaper	The Catalyst
Tuition	$54,820 (2025–26)[1]
Website	ransomeverglades.org

Ransom Everglades Upper School's Harry H. Anderson Gymnasium

The school is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the College Entrance Examination Board, the Global Online Academy, and the Mastery Transcript Consortium, among other educational organizations.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

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.^[8][9] Sources describe the school's curriculum as emphasizing experiential learning.^[10] 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.^[11][12] The Ransom School for Boys changed from a boarding to a day school in 1972;^[13] Its counterpart, the Everglades School for Girls, began in 1955 founded by Marie B. Swenson.^[14] The schools merged and adopted the current name in 1974.

Ransom Everglades has partnerships with organizations such as Breakthrough Miami,^[15] St. Alban's Child Enrichment Center, Booker T. Washington High School,^[16] ARC of South Florida,^[17] MUVE and the Reclamation Project.^[18] After an earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, students at Ransom Everglades raised almost $30,000 in relief funds.^[19]

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.^[9] 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.^[20] 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.^[2][9][21] 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.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24]

Athletics

The school has an athletic program with over 70 teams among 18 interscholastic sports.^[25] Ransom Everglades has fielded state championship teams in water polo (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019),^[26][27] soccer (2015, 2016),^[28][29] tennis (2014, 2018),^[30][31] and volleyball (2013).^[32]

Notable alumni

• Butch Brickell, racing driver and stuntman^[33]
• Aileen Cannon, federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida^[34]
• Chris Cavanaugh, swimmer^[35]
• Marc Fein, sports broadcaster^{[citation needed]}
• Rachel Feinstein, artist^[36]
• Jeff Lindsay, writer and playwright^[37]
• Pamela Golbin, curator, author and fashion historian^[38]
• Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, documentary filmmaker and portrait photographer^{[citation needed]}
• Lillian Guerra, historian and academic^[39]
• Ashleigh Johnson, water polo player^[40]
• Mike Malinin, drummer for the Goo Goo Dolls^[41]
• Robert Malval, Prime Minister of Haiti^{[citation needed]}
• Jeanine Mason, actress and dancer^[42][43]
• Andres Pedroso, tennis player and coach^[44]
• Jay Pierrepont Moffat, diplomat, historian and statesman^{[45][46][better source needed]}
• Dan Otero, baseball player^{[citation needed]}
• Arlene Sierra, composer^[47]
• Sam Singer, basketball player^[48]
• Laurinda Hope Spear, architect and landscape architect^{[45][better source needed]}
• Devi Sridhar, public health researcher and academic^[49]
• Jordi Vilasuso, actor^[50]
• Carlos Watson, television host and education advocate^[51]
• Sloan Wilson, writer^{[45][better source needed]}