The Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC) is a legacy of education that has been passed down through generations. Founded in 1923 by George Booth, the CEC is comprised of the Cranbrook Schools, the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the Cranbrook Museum of Art, the Cranbrook Institute of Science and the Cranbrook House and Gardens. The schools comprise a mixed elementary school, a high school with separate schools for boys and girls, and a mixed secondary school with boarding school. The art museum (built between 1940 and 1941 and opened in 1994) is one of several Cranbrook educational community buildings on the Booth estate; it is surrounded by landscaped gardens containing sculptures, fountains and tree-lined trails.
Traditionally, the Cranbrook School also has an exchange program with the Cranbrook School of Kent, a boarding school in Cranbrook, Kent, England, in honor of George Booth's legacy. Over the years, the Cranbrook Children's School campus grew to include Stevens Hall, Page Hall and Coulter Hall. The founders also built Christ Church Cranbrook as a focal point to serve the educational complex. The school is still known for its apprentice teaching method, in which a small group of students usually only 10 to 16 per class, or 150 students in total from the ten departments study with a single artist in residence throughout their curriculum.
Cranbrook schools are part of the Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC), which includes the Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook House and Gardens. In 1985, Cranbrook and Kingswood schools merged to create a blended higher education institution. During the summer months, Cranbrook schools conduct a variety of day and boarding programs on their campus. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger of The New York Times called the Cranbrook campus one of the best campuses ever created in the world. Today, Cranbrook schools include a blended high school, separate high schools for boys and girls from Kingswood and Brookside Lower School.
The school is renowned for its commitment to excellence in education and its dedication to providing students with an enriching learning experience. The legacy of George Booth's vision for education continues to live on at Cranbrook Schools. With its commitment to excellence in education and its dedication to providing students with an enriching learning experience, it is no wonder that this educational institution has become one of the most respected in the world.
