Kentucky Country Day School
Encyclopedia
Kentucky Country Day is an independent co-educational college preparatory day school for junior kindergarten through 12th grade located in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. It is located in northeastern Jefferson County on a large suburban campus. Today KCD is recognized as a regional leader in educational achievement. A comparatively high percentage of KCD graduates are national merit scholars (a complete listing and gallery are provided on the school website). Every KCD graduate has matriculated in a college/university while boasting a high percentage of its alumni enrolled in the most prestigious and selective universities in the country.

KCD has experienced unprecedented student growth with six straight years of increased enrollment. That growth has increased from 680 students in 2003-04 to 931 students in 2009-2010. Much of the student growth has been credited with the board's decision to increase the individual class size from 58 to 72, the school's location near a high growth section of Louisville with interstate accessibility, and its attractive menu and results in the athletic and arts fields. Per administration dictate, the maximum for an individual classroom is 18 students.

History

The history of KCD involves four predecessor institutions: Louisville Country Day "LCD", Kentucky Home School for Girls "KHS", Aquinas Preparatory School "APS", and Kentucky Military Institute
Kentucky Military Institute
The Kentucky Military Institute was a military preparatory school in Lyndon, Kentucky and Venice, Florida, in operation from 1845 to 1971....

"KMI".

1967, APS (all-male) merged with LCD (all-male).

August 1972, the current school of Kentucky Country Day was formed with the cooperative merger of Kentucky Home (all-female, founded 1863) and Louisville Country Day (all-male, founded 1948). With the two merging schools, a hybrid name was formulated using "Kentucky" from Kentucky Home and "Country Day" from Louisville Country Day.

1973, KMI (all-male, founded 1845) disbanded and its alumni and military honor code were adopted by KCD.

KCD was initially located on the former LCD campus (Rock Creek Drive) in Louisville, adjacent to Seneca Park for 7th grade to senior class students. Kindergarten through 6th grade students were located on the former APS campus (Browns Lane). A bus called the Blue Goose would transfer students between both campuses. In 1972, in a close vote, students selected the nickname Bearcats over Thoroughbreds as the school mascot along with its present day colors, royal blue and gold.

1979, under the direction of Headmaster John Gernert and the assistance of board members Brown-Forman Distilling executive Owsley Brown Frazier and Humana President David Jones, Sr., a new school was built on today's campus at the intersection of Springdale Road and Brownsboro Road (Kentucky Route 22).

Since KCD moved to its permanent campus on Springdale Road, several capital campaigns, construction projects, and techonologial advancements have changed the face and financial picture of the institution.

1994, former Vencor executive Bruce Lunsford spearheaded a campaign to raise the school's endowment and enhance the faculty pay structure.

2000, under the direction of Headmaster Robert Blair and board members Pat Mulloy and Laura Frazier (Huneke), a new upper school building was constructed in Owsley Frazier's name.

2005, during the tenure of Headmaster Bradley Lyman (2004–present), indoctrination of superior technology has occurred as KCD became the first Jefferson County school to provide a wireless campus and require laptops for all high school students. His leadership has engineered enormous student and faculty growth. Class size is limited to 18 students, and grades are strategically confined to average 72 students, helping to form a 900+ strong student body.

March 2009, to address the student growth, the administration announced the construction of a 400+ seat theatre/assembly center, additional classrooms and arts facilities and the expansion of the commons room. The grand opening for the building occurred in October 2010.

Traditions

While KCD has been in existence since 1972, many traditions from its predecessors remain. The school's honor code was adopted from Kentucky Military Institute. The football team's Monohan Field is named after the field at Aquinas Prep. "The Rock", located under the KCD football scoreboard, is touched by KCD football players before entering the field, just as it was at Aquinas Prep in the 1960s. Graduation ceremonies at KCD involve girls with long white dresses, a tradition from KHS carrying yellow roses, and the boys wearing white jackets, a tradition from LCD.

Since 2004, a new student tradition was formed involving the final class day for senior students called the "Senior Rose March". During the last day of school, kindergarten students give every senior a yellow or "gold" rose as the graduating students march from their upper school building for the last time (while the entire student body and faculty form a pathway) to the school's main building for the Awards Day ceremony. A junior class tradition involves the "Junior Class Ring Ceremony" where each student receives a class ring preceded by a speech from an alumnus.

Every student receives a yearly schoolbook, called the Fleur De Lis, a name tracing back to the name of the LCD yearbook. A fleur de lis is affixed to both school's official seals as the French royalty symbol also symbolizes the City of Louisville where the school's campus is located.

Academics

KCD requires a low student-to-teacher ratio where classrooms are limited to eighteen students. Each grade totals seventy-two students, being proportionally designed to contain four units of eighteen students.

Every high school student is required to use a personal computer as the entire campus has a wireless network. KCD became the first high school in Jefferson County to establish this mandate. Several instructional courses provide advanced placement courses, where a majority of students take at least one course.

An average of over 11% of junior class students are named National Merit Scholar semifinalists since 2004. As of 2009-10 year many students are taking the Merit Scholar tests for middle-school and high school.

To improve and encourage usage of foreign languages (such as French and Spanish), class trips involving many students will annually travel to places such as Quebec (Canada), France, and Spain.

To enhance diversity, KCD is the first school in Louisville to work with City of Louisville's sister city, Tamale located in the Republic of Ghana. KCD students have offered teaching assistance regarding English classes, technological support and have created fundraisers to build water-retention basins in the African country. Numerous press stories have applauded the school's efforts.

The school offers a student organized endowment fund designed to give annually to noteworthy charities. In 2009, this philanthropic concept, called the "Artemis Fund" gave over $4,000 in grants to various needy organizations.

The school possesses a Cum Laude Society, a society crafted for vigorous secondary school institutions.

College Enrollment

As a college preparatory institution, all students take college testing exams and matriculate into post-secondary institutions. The senior classes of 2005-2010 have enrolled in many of the most pretigious academic schools in the country, including most of the Ivy League, Magnolia League (top Southern), and Public Ivy (top public) institutions. Recent Ivy League, Magnolia League, and Public Ivy instutuions include Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Boston College, Brown, Columbia, Emory, Dartmouth, Duke, Davidson, Michigan, MIT, Northwestern, Tufts, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington U., and Washington & Lee. Recent regional favorites have included Bellarmine, Centre College, Denison, Depauw, Hanover, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Miami Univ., Murray State, Ohio State, Rhodes College, and St. Louis. Also, students have attended other highly accredited universities such as Colorado-Boulder, Pomona, and Vermont.

For three years, there has been at least one student from each class enrolled at both the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky where their acceptance involves an accelerated three-year undergraduate program with guaranteed acceptance to their respective medical school.

Athletics

KCD distinguishes itself by offering more fully funded varsity athletic programs per student — boys' and girls' cross country, girls' field hockey, boys' football, boys' and girls' golf, boys' and girls' soccer, girls' volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' swimming, wrestling, baseball, fast-pitch softball, boys' and girls' lacrosse, boys' and girls' tennis, and boys' and girls' track and field for only 280 high school students — than any other high school in Kentucky. Additionally, there are several middle school athletic programs (football -two divisions, field hockey -three divisions, soccer, cross country, basketball, swimming, track, softball, baseball -two divisions, and lacrosse).

KCD's extensive campus provides twelve outdoor game fields, including Monohan Field (football), Molly's Field and Jane Allen Field (field hockey), Michael Field (soccer, lacrosse), Schickli Field (middle school soccer, lacrosse), Patrick's Field (baseball), and Francis Ruth Field (soccer). Additional facilities include two gymnasiums, Gardner Gymnasium, Middle School Gymnasium (basketball and girls volleyball), the Monaco-Walker Track featuring a six-lane rubberized track with all-field facilities, six ATP-designed tennis courts with a viewing gazebo, the Bauer Strength and Conditioning Center, and a gymnastics room. The construction of the Cook Indoor Training Facility, the Gardner Gymnasium renovation, and the tennis storage and concession facility are recent athletic additions. In May 2009, a 2800 square feet (260.1 m²) renovation and expansion was dedicated to the Bauer Strength and Conditioning Center involving a six-figure financial joint venture between the school and Athletic Booster Club. June 2010, the boys locker room was renovated.

KCD is a member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA). Although KCD is a small, private school, it competes in most sports alongside much larger schools, as the KHSAA only divides schools into enrollment-based classes for three sports (football, track, and cross country). In those three classified sports, KCD competes in Class A. Several sports, most notably basketball and soccer along with volleyball, baseball, and softball, will compete in All "A" tournaments which serve as de facto state championships for the state's smallest schools, though not officially recognized by the KHSAA. Although state championships exist for field hockey and boys' and girls' lacrosse, they are not sponsored by the KHSAA because of an insufficient number of participating schools.

The Bearcat athletic program has garnered 17 Kentucky state championships and 29 state runner-up honors. The most recent state titles include the 2004 field hockey, 2007 All "A" boys' soccer, and the 2008 and 2010 girls' lacrosse teams. State runner-up finishes include field hockey in 2006 and 2007, girls lacrosse in 2006, 2007, and 2009 and boys' tennis in 2001 and 2008. There have been 128 individual state champions (60) and runners-up (68). These state champions include 16 boys' swimming and diving, 18 girls' gymnastics, 5 boys' track and field, 6 girls' swimming and 3 boys' tennis individual medals. The most recent individual state champions include swimmer Will Heyburn (50 freestyle) in 2006 and track and field athlete Marc Speed (discus) in 2009.

There are fourteen individuals with "retired jersey" status who have been inducted into the Royal Bearcat Society, including 1980 Swimming Olympian Lisa Buese, six-time state swimming champion Bruce Dorman, along with two-time individual state golf champions George "Skip" Stigger (1953, 1954) and Charlotte Allen (1974, 1975) and 1979 girls golf state champion Betty Baird. The school has a Bearcat Hall of Fame, whose members are announced and inducted annually in February. Ten varsity head coaches have achieved 100+ victory status. All of the school's champions, records, achievements and various retro jerseys and equipment are displayed in either the Gardner Gymnasium, "Middle School Gymnasium", and the William T Beam Jr Hall of Fame Hallway. As of 2010, 12.59% of KCD graduates have participated in college athletics.

In 2004, the school established an athletic booster club, which has authorized an extensive athletic records archive titled The Bearcat Shield, created an endowment fund to enhance the Bearcat program, established an annual varsity coaches and middle school coaches award, and allocated funds for various items to every school sport. The Bearcat Shield with all of the school's athletic records became available online to the public under the "athletics" header on the school's website, www.kcd.org.

The school's athletic director since 2004 is Dr. J. Timothy Green, a four-year football letterman at Vanderbilt University with graduate degrees from University of Alabama and the University of Florida.

Arts

A minimum of two student performances are conducted annually by both the upper and middle school divisions. Historically, these performances occurred either in the school's commons room (middle school) or at the Clifton Center (upper school), a nearby theater in Louisville from Spring 1980 to Spring 2010.

Beginning in Fall 2010, all performances are staged at the new theatre building. This building became a reality under the direction of campaign co-chairs Gary Smith, Sr. and Richard Clay. Construction began immediately at the close of school in May 2009 and was completed in Fall 2010. The 400+ seat auditorium/assembly center also includes additional classrooms for arts and theatre activities.

Currently, there are designated labs for both the music and art sections. The program has won numerous awards, including national acclaim. Many performances have been reported by The Courier-Journal and The Voice-Tribune. Supporters of the arts divisions have formed a "KCD Fine Arts Guild" in 2006 providing additional equipment and enhancements to the program.

The KCD arts director is Ms. Kate Scinta.

Endowment

There are several endowments dedicated to the institution and its students. Some of these endowments provide financial assistance, training for faculty, athletic enhancements and improvements regarding school maintenance. The most recent endowment to be announced (May 2009) was a two million dollar grant from the Malone Foundation. KCD is the only school in Kentucky to receive the gift. The Malone Foundation is designed to provide assistance to exceptional children along with financial need.

Alumni

For decades, alumni reunions were held in June after the conclusion of the school calendar year. Alumni were invited to play in a golf scramble tournament, followed by a bar-b-que dinner. Individual class reunions were held the next day. Beginning in 2011, class reunions were moved to reflect a more traditional Fall Homecoming schedule. The reunion event features a Friday evening Fall Homecoming football game, preceded by an afternoon field hockey game.

It is common for out-of-town alumni to frequent with local alumni at school-sponsored events during the Thanksgiving holiday break. There also have been school-sponsored alumni events in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC.

Every alumnus receives three annual issues of Connections, a publication dedicated to informing alumni of the school's activities along with class notes.

More than 10% of current students have an alumni parent.

Notable alumni

  • Lisa Buese, member of 1980 United States Olympic Swim Team
  • Owsley Brown Frazier
    Owsley Brown Frazier
    Owsley Brown Frazier is a philanthropist from Louisville, Kentucky USA who founded the Frazier International History Museum. He is retired from the board of directors of the Brown-Forman corporation, which his grandfather George Garvin Brown founded in 1870, and is one of the largest American-owned...

    , philanthropist, founder of Frazier International History Museum
    Frazier International History Museum
    The Frazier International History Museum, formerly the Frazier Historical Arms Museum, is a museum in Louisville, Kentucky's "Museum Row" in the West Main District of downtown. It is named for the museum's founder Owsley Brown Frazier...

  • Stephen Gaghan
    Stephen Gaghan
    Stephen Gaghan is an American screenwriter and director. He is noted for writing the screenplay for Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic, based on a Channel 4 series, for which he won the Academy Award, as well as Syriana which he wrote and directed.-Childhood and education:Born in either Louisville,...

    , Academy Award-winning film writer and director; credits include Traffic
    Traffic (2000 film)
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    , Syriana
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    , Rules of Engagement
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  • Dr. Laman Gray, inventor of the AbioCor
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  • David Grubbs
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    , musician
  • Catherine McCord
    Catherine McCord
    Catherine McCord is an American fashion model, actress, television program hostess, and blogger.-Biography:McCord was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and began modeling for Elite Model Management at the age of 14. She has appeared on the covers of Glamour and Elle magazines, and walked the runway...

    , model, actress, blonde
  • Stu Pollard
    Stu Pollard
    Stu Pollard, born January 26, 1967 in Louisville, Kentucky, is an American film producer, writer and director.In his youth, Pollard attended and graduated from Kentucky Country Day School and Georgetown University...

    , film producer, writer and director; credits include Nice Guys Sleep Alone, Keep Your Distance

Kentucky Military Institute

  • Jim Backus
    Jim Backus
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  • John Y. Brown, Jr.
    John Y. Brown, Jr.
    This article is about one of four John Young Browns, from Kentucky, that have served political office. For others see: John Young Brown ...

    , Governor of Kentucky
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     (1979–1983) (attended)
  • Stephen Gano Burbridge, Union Major General in the Civil War
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  • John A. "Jack" Hillerich III, current Chairman of the Board of Hillerich & Bradsby
    Hillerich & Bradsby
    Hillerich & Bradsby Company is a company located in Louisville, Kentucky that produces the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in downtown Louisville features a retrospective of the product and its use throughout baseball history...

  • Victor Mature
    Victor Mature
    Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...

    , actor; credits include Samson and Delilah
    Samson and Delilah (1949 film)
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    , My Darling Clementine
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  • Danny Sullivan
    Danny Sullivan
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  • Fred Willard
    Fred Willard
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    , actor; numerous television and film credits include Best in Show (film)
    Best in Show (film)
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    , This Is Spinal Tap
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External links

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