The Blake School (Minneapolis)

The Blake Campus, home to the Middle School and one of the two Lower Schools, Hopkins

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.[4]

With help from William Blake, Bovey asked sixteen other local business leaders to contribute $2,500 each towards the school's first capital drive. In 1911, these original guarantors hired Charles B. Newton, a Princeton and Harvard alumnus, to replace William Blake as headmaster. 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, with the site, now known as Blake Campus, being the current home of the middle school and one of the two lower school campuses.[4]

Northrop building in 1916

In 1900, Zulema A. Ruble, a Smith College alumna,[5] 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.[4]

Field hockey on Northrop in 1918

In 1958, Sage Cowles, wife of John Cowles, Jr., along with two friends,[6] established Highcroft Country Day School, a private, coeducational, nonsectarian K-9 school in Wayzata. Highcroft was designed to provide students in the far western suburbs (at the time) of the Twin Cities 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.[4]

Some spectators arriving at Blake's Gordy Aamoth Jr. Memorial Stadium

In addition to retaining the original sites of the three schools as part of the campuses of the Blake School, the school also carries on other traditions, such as:[4]

• 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 Stavney.[3]

Blake is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), The College Board, National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), and the Cum Laude Society.[9]

Blake has received numerous accolades in recent years, including:

• U.S. Department of Education – Blue Ribbon School, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94[10]
• The College Board – "Exemplary AP English Literature and Composition Programs", 2007[11]
• Wall Street Journal – "How the Schools Stack Up" (ranking of 41- above Hotchkiss School, Deerfield Academy, Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C., Princeton Day School, and Dalton School in New York, for high schools with the best record of graduates attending eight top universities), 2007[12]
• Character Education Partnership – National School of Character, 2009[13]
• Mpls St.Paul Magazine – in school diversity and inclusion efforts, 2010[14]
• 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,[15] winning the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Race portion.[16] 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 the most active and successful high school debate programs in the entire country, having won several prestigious national championships, including the National Speech and Debate Association 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.[17]

Blake won the Minnesota State High School League 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[20] – more than any other school in state history – and was runner-up in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and placed third in 2011.[20] 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, NFL, and MLB.