The Pembroke Hill School (usually referred to as Pembroke Hill) is a progressive, inclusive, secular, coeducational, independent preparatory school for about 1,200 students in early years (age 2 years) through high school, separated into four sections: early years-prekindergarten (early childhood school), kindergarten-5th grade (lower school), 6th-8th grade (middle school), and 9th-12th grade (upper school). It is located on two campuses in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza.
Vassie James Ward Hill, a prominent Kansas Citian and Vassar College graduate born in 1875, gained a considerable fortune upon the death of her first husband, Hugh Ward, a son of pioneer Seth E. Ward. She then married Albert Ross Hill, formerly president of the University of Missouri.
At the time, Kansas Citians of means commonly sent their children to boarding schools on the east coast. Hill did not want to send her daughter and three sons "back east." She believed they should be able to have an equal education in Kansas City. This led her to research the workings of college preparatory schools, especially the progressive education of the Country Day School movement.
In 1910, using funds from 12 Kansas City businessmen, Hill founded the Country Day School for boys, which accepted both day students and boarders (boarding ceased in the 1950s). The initial enrollment was 20 students but grew to 52 within three years. It sat on what is today Pembroke Hill's Ward Parkway Campus, to the west of the Country Club Plaza at the intersection of State Line Road.
Three years later, Ruth Carr Patton and Frances Matteson Bowersock joined with Hill to found the Sunset Hill School, named after Hill's favorite area on the Vassar campus. Sunset Hill was located on what today is Pembroke Hill's Wornall Campus, south of the Country Club Plaza. At the time of its founding, the campus overlooked the Kansas City Country Club (today Loose Park). It also includes a portion of the battlefield from the Battle of Westport.
In 1925, some educators and students left the Country Day School to form the Pembroke School for boys. Their endeavor failed amidst the Great Depression, and the two schools re-merged in 1933 to form the Pembroke-Country Day School, keeping the Country Day School's original campus. It usually was referred to as "Pem Day."
Merger
From the start, Sunset Hill and Pembroke-Country Day worked cooperatively. Often, teachers taught at both schools. For generations, many Kansas City families would send their boys to Pem Day and their girls to Sunset Hill. School activities, such as plays and dances, often were combined, and Sunset Hill girls were cheerleaders for Pem Day's athletic teams. In 1963, the schools began coeducational classes in upper-level math, science, and languages.
In the early 1980s, the two schools began merger discussions, ultimately merging in 1984 to become the Pembroke Hill School. The class of 1985 elected to have separate graduation ceremonies. True coeducation began the next year. The former Sunset Hill campus became home to the primary and lower schools (then preschool through 6th grade), and the former Pem Day campus became home to the middle and upper schools (then 7th grade through 12th grade).
Recent events
In 1988, Kansas City Magazine notoriously published an article titled "A High School on Easy Street", criticizing Pembroke Hill's students' allegedly "advantaged way of life."
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Pembroke Hill completed a $50 million capital improvement project, which renovated both campuses. The Ward Parkway campus gained a new middle school building, Boocock Middle School (which now serves 6th-8th grades), a new upper school building, Jordan Hall, a new arts center, and a new library, the James M. Kemper, Sr. Library.
In June 2020, the school announced the beginning of their "Building Together" construction project on the Ward Parkway campus. The $52 million project is expected to be completed by the spring of 2022. The renovation will include changes to a number of areas on the Ward Parkway campus, including: A renovated, single-level campus green A new dining hall A new athletic center featuring a competition and auxiliary gym. New bleachers and a press box will back up to the athletic center. An updated Hall Student Center with a larger lobby space for the performing arts. A new skywalk connecting the dining hall with the existing Centennial Hall. The removal of Pierson Gym, which will be turned into a green space on campus.