Remembering Kingswood Headmaster Bill Prescott
We are saddened to share that former Kingswood Headmaster William C. Prescott has died. Bill led Kingswood School Cranbrook from 1976 to 1980, arriving at a moment of transition and providing the steady, thoughtful leadership that restored faculty confidence and stabilized the school during a period of cultural and structural change. He strengthened the academic program, supported professional growth, introduced enduring community traditions, and helped lay the groundwork for the relocation and expansion of the Kingswood Library—an initiative realized shortly after his departure but rooted in his vision.
In the reflection that follows, Upper School Librarian and Department Head Kate Covintree—who had the rare experience of working at both Kingswood and later at The Wheeler School under Prescott’s legacy—shares a personal remembrance of the lasting impact his commitment to libraries and learning spaces had on her career and on generations of students.
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In the reflection that follows, Upper School Librarian and Department Head Kate Covintree—who had the rare experience of working at both Kingswood and later at The Wheeler School under Prescott’s legacy—shares a personal remembrance of the lasting impact his commitment to libraries and learning spaces had on her career and on generations of students.
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Feb 2026
In memorium, William C. Prescott, Jr.
For eleven years I walked into the second floor of the Prescott Library every day to work in the Upper School library at The Wheeler School in Providence, RI. Built almost 100 years after the school's founding, the building named for the sixth Head of School, housed the Lower, Middle, and Upper School library spaces as well as offices for IT and Upper School Academic Support. The Chazan Gallery also made its home in space on the first floor. The building was a hive of curiosity with students finding various independent ways to engage in their own learning through books, research projects, art, and more.
When paintings of former Heads of School began to be distributed around Wheeler’s campus, William Prescott's portrait found its way to the entrance of our newly renovated Upper School Library space. There he stood with arms folded, head tilted, and a twinkle in his eye, welcoming every student and teacher to a world of resource wonder.
When an opening at the Cranbrook Upper School library came up during the COVID, I jumped at the chance to move near family in the state of my birth. Little did I know, when I took the job, that Mr. Prescott had been Head of Kingswood School for Girls in the 1980's.
I had the pleasure to meet Mr. Prescott twice while working in Rhode Island. Once, during his rather regular tomato plant donation in the spring, and once right before I moved to Michigan. Our second meeting was brief, but he was always recognizable with his head of sharp white hair and broad shoulders. (It didn’t hurt that I saw his portrait daily.) As we stood at a high-top table in the lunch area, I told him I was headed to Cranbrook, and he recalled the beauty of the campus and that he'd lived in a house on Robin Hill.
Originally located near the Green Lobby, Mr. Prescott was a key force in shifting the Kingswood library to its current location–the former study hall and music classrooms. While the project was finished after he left Cranbrook Schools (to head to Wheeler, no less), Mr. Prescott was instrumental in creating a new library space that nearly tripled the size of its former location. Kingswood’s library has some of the most beautiful views of Kingswood Lake and duck field. When the snow falls, it’s like you are in the center of a book-filled snow globe.
Mr. Prescott's legacy is long and varied, I know. But it is his support of multiple school libraries that amazes me. He has had an immediate and lasting impact on the daily work I’ve performed for the majority of my career. I am not an alum of either Wheeler or Cranbrook Kingswood, but I am just as much a beneficiary of his dedication to and vision for libraries as they. Libraries and their programmatic services are vital to thriving independent schools. Mr. Prescott’s work ensured that students (former, current, and future) in both Upper Schools have access to this essential resource. From those students, and from me, thank you.
-Kate Covintree
Upper School Librarian and Department Head
-Kate Covintree
Upper School Librarian and Department Head
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Bill Prescott, Kingswood Headmaster 1976-1980
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(248) 645-3000
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
(248) 645-3000
