Pine Crest School

Pine Crest School is a private preparatory school with campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Boca Raton. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan, who also served as the school's first president.Pine Crest is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), and the Florida Kindergarten Council (FKC). Pine Crest has also been named a "Blue Ribbon School" by the United States Department of Education.Pine Crest School has two campuses—the main Mae McMillan Campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the William J. McMillan Campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The Boca Raton campus, originally Boca Raton Academy, was absorbed by Pine Crest in 1987 and hosts students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8. The Fort Lauderdale campus hosts students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12.HistoryPine Crest School became accredited during those years and developed a reputation as an excellent preparatory school. Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) was followed by membership in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), and numerous other professional groups. To better serve the needs of the expanding community's population, the school was incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1959 and moved in 1965 to an entirely new 49-acre campus in northeast Fort Lauderdale. At that time, William J. McMillan '45, the founder's son, became headmaster and served in that capacity until 1988, when Lourdes M. Cowgill was invested as Headmistress and Mr. McMillan held the position of President of the Pine Crest Preparatory School Corporation. Cowgill succeeded Mr. McMillan as President on September 1, 1995. In January 2011, the Board of Trustees forcibly retired Cowgill to appoint Henry M. Battle, Jr. as the school's fourth president. After a whirlwind of controversy, Battle was placed on administrative leave. The Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Dana Markham as acting president in May 2011, and, in December 2011, she became the fifth president of Pine Crest School.