Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, United States, for students aged 18 months through 8th grade.

History

Located in the historic Central Gardens neighborhood in

Midtown, Memphis Midtown is a collection of neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee, to the east of Downtown. Midtown is home to many cultural attractions, institutions of higher education, and noteworthy pieces of architecture. The district is an anchor in Memp ...

, Grace-St. Luke's (GSL), was founded in 1947. The school began in 1919, when Bartow B. Ramage, rector of St. Luke's Church began a

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

for the neighborhood. His daughter Ethel Ramage would join as a teacher in 1923 after graduating from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, but closed the school in 1924 upon his retirement. It remained closed until 1947, when Mrs. S. Griffin Walker, who had taught

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

at St. Mary's School, asked Grace-St. Luke's rector Rev. Charles Stuart Hale for space to open a kindergarten. He agreed, and thus began a kindergarten in the basement of the

parish house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, par ...

. Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Day School began in earnest in 1959 when a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

was issued and the first capital fund drive began. At that time, the school offered kindergarten through 6th grade. School leaders broke ground for a new day school building on November 30, 1959.Viser, Barbara M. (1990). ''Grace-St. Luke’s, The First Fifty Years''. Published by Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Library of Congress Catalog Number 90-083968 The original Day School Building was dedicated in May 1960 by Tennessee's Episcopal Bishop Theodore Barth. Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School continued to grow. Improvements were made, and new buildings were eventually added, including Morton Hall Activities Building (and gymnasium), in 1970, Bratton Hall in 1974, which enabled the addition of 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. But due to continuing space and program needs that were not possible to meet, given the physical location of the school, high school grades were discontinued by 1979 to better focus on educational and leadership opportunities for the Lower and

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

students. GSL went on to acquire additional properties (Snowden Athletic Field in 1984 and Miss Lee's

Preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

in 1986). In the early 1990s, Grace-St. Luke's opened the Evans Building, which links the church and school administrative offices to the Middle School and gymnasium. In 2010, the school completed its first major new construction in 20 years, and opened the Anchor Center, a multipurpose building designed to ensure the school's

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

, and allow capacity for future growth. It houses a gymnasium, cafeteria, library, light-filled arts and music rooms, after school care space, and Middle School science labs. Grace-St. Luke's School serves more than 450 students from age 18 months through eighth grade. It is accredited by the

Southern Association of Independent Schools The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), founded in 1953, is a U.S.-based voluntary regional accrediting association of more than 380 independent elementary and secondary schools with a combined enrollment of more than 220,000 ...

, and a number of other regional and national educational organizations. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2022.Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School website
/ref> In 2024 Grace-St. Luke's commemorated the 100th anniversary of its historic preschool at Miss Lee's100th anniversary of its historic preschool at Miss Lee's
/ref> originally founded as a separate entity in 1924. It is a feeder school to: * Christian Brothers High School *

Memphis University School Memphis University School (MUS) is a college-preparatory, independent, day school for boys, grades 6–12, located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Original campus (1893–1936) Edwin Sidney Werts and James White Sheffey Rhea found ...

* St. Mary's Episcopal School * Hutchison School * Briarcrest Christian School * Lausanne Collegiate School * Crosstown High School

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.gslschool.org/ Schools in Memphis, Tennessee Educational institutions established in 1947 Episcopal Church in Tennessee Episcopal schools in the United States Private elementary schools in Tennessee Private middle schools in Tennessee Private K–8 schools in the United States 1947 establishments in Tennessee