The Kinkaid School
Encyclopedia
The Kinkaid School is a K-12
non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village
, Texas
, United States
.
The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school
in the Houston, Texas
area (Greater Houston
). The student body is divided into the Lower School (Pre-K - 4th Grade), the Middle School (5th grade - 8th grade) and the Upper School (9th grade - 12th grade). The school motto is: "Lux per Scientiam" meaning, "Light through Knowledge." The school colors are purple and gold, and the school mascot is the falcon.
The current headmaster is Don North. The headmaster is aided by and is held accountable to a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, which draws its members from alumni, parents, and other friends and community leaders. The current chairman of the Board is E. Staman Ogilvie.
A unique aspect of Kinkaid's Upper School is its Interim Term, which provides three weeks in January for teacher-designed and student-selected curricula. Teachers at the school take the opportunity to provide classes that they would otherwise not be able to teach, either for lack of time or lack of material. Such classes include military histories of the Civil War
and World War II
, introductory courses in digital programming
and engineering
, courses in photography
and art history, and, famously, a course in Disney films. Students may also go on international trips sponsored by the school, such as tours of China
, Italy
, and Greece
; homestays in Mexico
and France
are also possibilities. Finally, the school provides connections with companies throughout the greater Houston area and, if the students prefer, throughout the world, in which its senior students may find internships.
of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. A big alumni event is the Kinkaid vs. St. John's School football game played each year at Rice Stadium
, with the winning record belonging to Kinkaid.
Kinkaid offers multiple sports per each sports season (fall, winter, and spring). In the fall they offer football (boys only), cross country, volleyball, cheerleading, and field hockey (girls only). In the winter they offer soccer, basketball, wrestling (boys only), and swimming. In the spring they offer lacrosse, baseball (boys only), softball (girls only), track & field, tennis, and golf.
The Kinkaid School was founded in 1906 by Margaret Hunter Kinkaid. When the school was first established, it was located in the dining room of Kinkaid's House, which was located at the intersection of Elgin and San Jacinto in what is now Midtown Houston
. Tuition at the school ranged from $90.00 per year for first and second grades to $130.00 per year for sixth graders. Tuition is now $14, 740 for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, $15,790 for Grades 1 through 4, $18, 270 for Grades 5 through 8, and $19, 740 for Grades 9 through 12. Books, lunch, and a one-time $1000 new student fee are not included. is Kinkaid's current school song, Kinkaid, My Own Kinkaid, was written by Charlotte Williams Darby and Elizabeth Law, sixth grade Kinkaid students, and was adopted by Mrs. Kinkaid for the school in 1921.
neighborhood. The school moved to this location in the fall of 1924. The school had its first Open House that year to celebrate the new facility. This tradition continues today. Kinkaid also added its upper school program beginning in the late 1920s. However, after more than thirty years, the school eventually outgrew its campus and was forced to look for a new location. After considering locations in Afton Oaks and other areas, it was eventually decided that a parcel of land in Piney Point Village would be purchased. When the school moved, most of the buildings that Kinkaid had built on the Richmond campus were torn down by the new tenants. Some of the old Kinkaid buildings remained for many years, but all had been torn down by 2005.
Beginning in the early 1990s, the campus began a large construction program in an effort to modernize its facilities, which had not been truly updated since they were initially constructed in the 1950s. A brand new lower school building was constructed, and the old building was torn down, along with the "little" gym and lower school art and science buildings. A new middle school building was also constructed, and the existing upper school was expanded into the old middle school building. Further, a new auditorium and cafeteria were built, and the remaining campus buildings were renovated.
In additional the physical changes on campus, the fifth grade was moved from lower school to middle school.
Margaret Kinkaid, the school's founder, served as the first headmistress. Kinkaid was a public school teacher before she founded The Kinkaid School. Kinkaid left the public school system when she discovered that married women were not welcome as public school teachers in her school district. Mrs. Kinkaid was pivotal in the early growth of Kinkaid, and the move to the school's Richmond campus. Mrs. Kinkaid was the headmistress of the school from its founding until 1951. At that time, both she and her son William retired from their duties at Kinkaid.
Kinkaid was replaced by John Cooper, who stayed with the school for over two decades. It was Mr. Cooper who helped move the campus from its Richmond location to the current Memorial site. In his later years, he was the co-founder and namesake of The John Cooper School
in The Woodlands
.
Glenn Ballard succeeded Mr. Cooper in 1979 when Cooper retired. Mr. Ballard oversaw much of the school's renovation and expansion beginning in the early 1990s, along with handling much of the fundraising for the project. He retired in 1996.http://www.kinkaid.org/main.php?menu_id=6221
The current headmaster is Don North.
Prior to the major renovations at the school during the 1990s, the headmaster lived in a house located on the Kinkaid campus. It was decided during the renovations that the headmaster's house should be converted into a place for the various school groups to meet, and that would allow for a dedicated spot for fundraising events and parties to be held. The headmaster's house was relocated to a home just outside Kinkaid.
, sent an irate letter (entitled "The Tipping Point") to the school's board of directors. In the letter, McGee, Head of the Global Investment Banking Division at Barclays Capital and one of Wall Street's highest paid bankers, attacked the school's administration for altering a previously planned student pep rally. McGee went on to criticize one of the teachers whom he believed to be behind the changes; he also complained that the history teacher had reduced his 11th grade son, John Ed, to tears with a comment about investment banking. The controversy was covered in the March 2011 edition of Texas Monthly.
's novel, Exit Ghost
, features a character who is described as having been a valedictorian at Kinkaid, prior to attending Harvard.
In 1998, the movie Rushmore filmed scenes at Kinkaid. Saint John's alumnus Wes Anderson used the now demolished Lower School Building for scenes set in an elementary school.
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village
Piney Point Village, Texas
Piney Point Village is a city in Harris County, Texas. The population was 3,380 at the 2000 census. Piney Point Village is also considered one of the wealthiest communities in the Greater Houston area.-History:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in the Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
area (Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
). The student body is divided into the Lower School (Pre-K - 4th Grade), the Middle School (5th grade - 8th grade) and the Upper School (9th grade - 12th grade). The school motto is: "Lux per Scientiam" meaning, "Light through Knowledge." The school colors are purple and gold, and the school mascot is the falcon.
The current headmaster is Don North. The headmaster is aided by and is held accountable to a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, which draws its members from alumni, parents, and other friends and community leaders. The current chairman of the Board is E. Staman Ogilvie.
A unique aspect of Kinkaid's Upper School is its Interim Term, which provides three weeks in January for teacher-designed and student-selected curricula. Teachers at the school take the opportunity to provide classes that they would otherwise not be able to teach, either for lack of time or lack of material. Such classes include military histories of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, introductory courses in digital programming
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, courses in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and art history, and, famously, a course in Disney films. Students may also go on international trips sponsored by the school, such as tours of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
; homestays in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
are also possibilities. Finally, the school provides connections with companies throughout the greater Houston area and, if the students prefer, throughout the world, in which its senior students may find internships.
Sports
Kinkaid sports teams compete in the Southwest Preparatory ConferenceSouthwest Preparatory Conference
The Southwest Preparatory Conference is an athletic conference for certain private high schools in Texas and Oklahoma. It is composed of the following schools:*All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas*Casady School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. A big alumni event is the Kinkaid vs. St. John's School football game played each year at Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....
, with the winning record belonging to Kinkaid.
Kinkaid offers multiple sports per each sports season (fall, winter, and spring). In the fall they offer football (boys only), cross country, volleyball, cheerleading, and field hockey (girls only). In the winter they offer soccer, basketball, wrestling (boys only), and swimming. In the spring they offer lacrosse, baseball (boys only), softball (girls only), track & field, tennis, and golf.
History
Midtown, Houston, Texas
Midtown is a district southwest of Downtown Houston, bordered by Neartown and U.S. Highway 59.-History:Around 1906 what is now Midtown was divided between the Third Ward and Fourth Ward. Before the 1950s what is now Midtown was a popular residential district. Increasingly, commercial development...
. Tuition at the school ranged from $90.00 per year for first and second grades to $130.00 per year for sixth graders. Tuition is now $14, 740 for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, $15,790 for Grades 1 through 4, $18, 270 for Grades 5 through 8, and $19, 740 for Grades 9 through 12. Books, lunch, and a one-time $1000 new student fee are not included. is Kinkaid's current school song, Kinkaid, My Own Kinkaid, was written by Charlotte Williams Darby and Elizabeth Law, sixth grade Kinkaid students, and was adopted by Mrs. Kinkaid for the school in 1921.
The Richmond Campus
The school's second location was at the intersection of Richmond and Graustark in the NeartownNeartown Houston
Neartown is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Neartown is roughly bounded by U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, Bagby Street on the east, and Shepherd Drive to the west...
neighborhood. The school moved to this location in the fall of 1924. The school had its first Open House that year to celebrate the new facility. This tradition continues today. Kinkaid also added its upper school program beginning in the late 1920s. However, after more than thirty years, the school eventually outgrew its campus and was forced to look for a new location. After considering locations in Afton Oaks and other areas, it was eventually decided that a parcel of land in Piney Point Village would be purchased. When the school moved, most of the buildings that Kinkaid had built on the Richmond campus were torn down by the new tenants. Some of the old Kinkaid buildings remained for many years, but all had been torn down by 2005.
Piney Point Village Campus
Since 1957 and through the present day, the school has been situated on a 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) site in the city of Piney Point Village, an enclave of Houston, at the junction of 201 Kinkaid School Drive and San Felipe. Kinkaid introduced uniforms for its lower and middle school students beginning in the early 1960s. Upper school students have never been required to wear uniforms. Beginning in 1970, Kinkaid adopted what was known as an "open enrollment" policy. This policy essentially affirmed that minority students could be admitted to Kinkaid, should they pass the school's entrance exams.Beginning in the early 1990s, the campus began a large construction program in an effort to modernize its facilities, which had not been truly updated since they were initially constructed in the 1950s. A brand new lower school building was constructed, and the old building was torn down, along with the "little" gym and lower school art and science buildings. A new middle school building was also constructed, and the existing upper school was expanded into the old middle school building. Further, a new auditorium and cafeteria were built, and the remaining campus buildings were renovated.
In additional the physical changes on campus, the fifth grade was moved from lower school to middle school.
Current and prior headmasters
The school has had four headmasters in its history.Margaret Kinkaid, the school's founder, served as the first headmistress. Kinkaid was a public school teacher before she founded The Kinkaid School. Kinkaid left the public school system when she discovered that married women were not welcome as public school teachers in her school district. Mrs. Kinkaid was pivotal in the early growth of Kinkaid, and the move to the school's Richmond campus. Mrs. Kinkaid was the headmistress of the school from its founding until 1951. At that time, both she and her son William retired from their duties at Kinkaid.
Kinkaid was replaced by John Cooper, who stayed with the school for over two decades. It was Mr. Cooper who helped move the campus from its Richmond location to the current Memorial site. In his later years, he was the co-founder and namesake of The John Cooper School
The John Cooper School
The John Cooper School is an independent, college-preparatory, nonsectarian, co-educational day school located in The Woodlands, an unincorporated planned community in Montgomery County, Texas, United States.-Overview:...
in The Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a Census-designated place in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population of the CDP was 55,649 at the 2000 census—a 90 percent increase over its 1990 population. According to the 2010 census, The Woodlands' population rose...
.
Glenn Ballard succeeded Mr. Cooper in 1979 when Cooper retired. Mr. Ballard oversaw much of the school's renovation and expansion beginning in the early 1990s, along with handling much of the fundraising for the project. He retired in 1996.http://www.kinkaid.org/main.php?menu_id=6221
The current headmaster is Don North.
Prior to the major renovations at the school during the 1990s, the headmaster lived in a house located on the Kinkaid campus. It was decided during the renovations that the headmaster's house should be converted into a place for the various school groups to meet, and that would allow for a dedicated spot for fundraising events and parties to be held. The headmaster's house was relocated to a home just outside Kinkaid.
Centennial
The 2005-2006 school year was notable as it signified Kinkaid's Centennial Year. This celebration was marked by a number of special events, including an alumni theatrical review, a special reunion weekend surrounding the St. John's game, a Centennial alumni art show, and finally a Centennial Gala.2009 Controversy
On November 11, 2009, a Kinkaid parent, Hugh "Skip" McGee IIIHugh "Skip" McGee III
Hugh E. "Skip" McGee III is an American investment banker from Texas, and head of the Global Investment Banking Division at Barclays Capital. Prior to working at Barclays, McGee was the head of the Investment Banking Division at Lehman Brothers...
, sent an irate letter (entitled "The Tipping Point") to the school's board of directors. In the letter, McGee, Head of the Global Investment Banking Division at Barclays Capital and one of Wall Street's highest paid bankers, attacked the school's administration for altering a previously planned student pep rally. McGee went on to criticize one of the teachers whom he believed to be behind the changes; he also complained that the history teacher had reduced his 11th grade son, John Ed, to tears with a comment about investment banking. The controversy was covered in the March 2011 edition of Texas Monthly.
In popular culture
Philip RothPhilip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
's novel, Exit Ghost
Exit Ghost
Exit Ghost is a 2007 novel by Philip Roth. It is the ninth, and Roth says his last, novel featuring Nathan Zuckerman.-Plot summary:The plot centers on Zuckerman's return home to New York after eleven years in New England. The purpose of Zuckerman's journey, which he takes the week before the 2004 U.S...
, features a character who is described as having been a valedictorian at Kinkaid, prior to attending Harvard.
In 1998, the movie Rushmore filmed scenes at Kinkaid. Saint John's alumnus Wes Anderson used the now demolished Lower School Building for scenes set in an elementary school.
Notable Alumni
- George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
- Jeb BushJeb BushJohn Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
- James A. Baker IIIJames BakerJames Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
- Adam EreliJ. Adam EreliJoseph Adam Ereli is an American diplomat and ambassador. Ereli is the current ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain. In 1989 Ereli joined the Foreign Service and served in Africa. He also served as the Director of the Office of Press and Public Affairs. Ereli was sworn in as the 15th United...
- Clark Kent ErvinClark ErvinClark Kent Ervin, currently the head of at the Aspen Institute, was the first Inspector General of the United States Department of Homeland Security . He was appointed on December 26, 2003, in a recess appointment by President George W. Bush. Prior to appointment, he had served as the acting...
- William P. Hobby Jr.William P. Hobby, Jr.William Pettus “Bill” Hobby, Jr., is a Texas Democratic politician who served a record eighteen years as the 37th Lieutenant Governor...
- John CassidyJohn Cassidy (author)John Cassidy is the chief executive and co-founder of Klutz Press and author of over 200 instructional and children's books, including Juggling for the Complete Klutz, The Klutz Book of Inventions, and The Klutz Book of Brilliantly Ridiculous Inventions.Cassidy attended Stanford University, where...
- Jeff MartinJeff Martin (writer)Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
- Carolyn McCormickCarolyn McCormickCarolyn Inez McCormick is an American actress best known for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet on Law & Order franchise.-Life and career:McCormick was born in Midland, Texas to a father who owned an oil drilling company...
- Patrick F. TaylorPatrick F. TaylorPatrick F. Taylor was an American businessman, who was founder and CEO of the independent oil company Taylor Energy Company....
- David HornsbyDavid HornsbyDavid Hornsby is an American television and film actor and writer.-Early life and education:Hornsby was born in 1973 in Houston, Texas...
External links
- The Kinkaid School
- Kinkaid School handbooks
- Architectural information on the Kinkaid Theatre's Brown Auditorium
- Article from Stage Directions magazine about the Kinkaid Theatre