St. Mary's Episcopal School is a private, independent school for girls from age 2 through 12th grade, located in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. St Mary's is the oldest private school in Memphis, and has been described as being the oldest school for girls in the mid-south region.
History
St. Mary’s Episcopal School was established in 1847 by Mary Foote Pope.
It is the oldest private school in Memphis. The school, founded at
Calvary Episcopal Church, changed locations many times, including to
Hernando, Mississippi in 1862 until the end of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
From 1910 to 1949, Helen Loomis guided St. Mary's through the Great Depression and the two world wars. From 1949 to 1958, Gilmore Lynn directed St. Mary's through a period of growth, to 400 students. In 1953, she moved St. Mary's to its current location at the intersection of Perkins and Walnut Grove in Memphis.
Nathaniel C. Hughes was headmaster of St. Mary’s from 1962 to 1973. During his tenure, St. Mary's graduated an increasingly high percentage of National Merit Scholars, incorporated as an independent Episcopal school, and became the first independent girls’ school in Memphis to integrate its student body. Mary McClintock Davis, dean of the upper school from 1964 to 1979, "stood with Nat Hughes (the headmaster) to allow persons of all colors to be admitted" to the school. This occurred at a time when many private schools were being formed to avoid the integration in the public schools. St. Mary's grew rapidly during the 1970s, with the upper school increasing from 107 to 250 students during Davis’s tenure. The school continued to have a diverse student body; in 2014, minorities represent a fifth of the student body. The school expanded physically with several large construction projects during the 2000s. In 2012 it upgraded its data, network and phone telecommunications systems to permit greater use of technology.
St. Mary's Episcopal School has been supported by the Bishops of the
Dioceses of Tennessee and
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its ...
. The school has been associated with the Church of the Holy Communion since 1953. It has previously been associated with
Calvary Episcopal Church,
St. Mary's Cathedral, and
Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
Academics
St. Mary's is a college preparatory program. Girls can also participate in many extracurricular activities, including sports, mock trial, debate, theater, robotics, recycling competitions. Another project by students involved recycling efforts.
Administration
The head of the school is Albert Throckmorton.
[Andy Meek, Memphis Daily News, 2014]
Throckmorton Named to Independent Schools Board
Accessed June 2, 2014
Divisions
*Shaw Early Childhood Center: St. Mary's Place (2-year-olds), Pre-Kindergarten, Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten
Lower School: 1st–5th gradeMiddle School: 6th–8th gradeUpper School: 9th–12th grade
Athletics
St. Mary's is a member school of the
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), along with the affiliated Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA), is an organization which administers junior and senior high school sporting events in Tennessee. The TSSAA ...
. Middle and Upper School students can compete in soccer, cross country, golf, volleyball, basketball, bowling, dance, swimming, fencing, lacrosse, track and field, tennis, and
trap shooting
Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays.
They are disting ...
.
The mascot of St. Mary's is the Turkey, formerly the Southern Belles. In the spring semester of 2013, ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' included the St. Mary's Turkey in the Best High School Mascot Contest. Online voting led the Turkey to win first place in the state of Tennessee, followed by a first-place victory in the Southeast region. The regional win advanced the Turkey to the national competition, where it placed fifth.
Online School for Girls
St. Mary’s is a charter member of the
Online School for Girls
The Online School for Girls (OSG) is a US online learning environment built on the traditions of independent schools and girls' schools. It was founded in 2009 by four such schools forming a non-profit consortium.
Consortium schools
The member ...
, an electronic setting offering advanced academic instruction for girls worldwide. The mission of OSG is to "provide an exceptional all-girls educational experience by connecting girls worldwide through relevant and engaging coursework in a dynamic online learning community." The Head of School at St. Mary's, Albert Throckmorton, serves as the vice-president on the OSG Board of Trustees.
Notable alumnae
*
Gwen Robinson Awsumb
Gwen Robinson Awsumb (25 September 1915 – 16 January 2003) was an American politician and social activist. In 1967, she became the first woman to be elected to the city council in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Her legacy is of challenging ...
(Class of 1932), first woman elected to Memphis City Council
*
Lee McGeorge Durrell
Lee McGeorge Durrell (née McGeorge; born September 7, 1949) is an American naturalist, author, zookeeper, and television presenter. She is best known for her work at the Jersey Zoological Park in the British Channel Island of Jersey with h ...
(Class of 1967), American naturalist, author, zookeeper and television presenter
*
Crissy Garrett Haslam (Class of 1976), wife of
Bill Haslam
William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...
,
Governor of Tennessee
*
Windland Smith Rice (Class of 1988), American photographer
*
Gabrielle Rose (Class of 1995), competitive swimmer in the
1996 and
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
*
Andrea Armani (Class of 1996), Award Winning Professor of Engineering
References
External links
St. Mary's Episcopal SchoolSt. Mary's Episcopal School Faculty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Episcopal School, Memphis
Schools in Memphis, Tennessee
Episcopal schools in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1847
Education in Memphis, Tennessee
Girls' schools in Tennessee
Schools accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
1847 establishments in Tennessee