Immaculate Conception Cathedral School (ICSS) was a private

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school in the heart of the historic Central Gardens neighborhood of

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 ...

. ICCS was

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 ...

and served students of all faiths in its Pre-K3 through 8th grade. Its high school closed in 2020 and the remaining grades closed in 2024.

Background

Founded in 1921 by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

, ICCS shared the campus of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the mother church of the Diocese of Memphis and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a unit school. Grades Pre-K through 8th were co-ed. In August 2016, the school opened a new early childhood center that connects to the existing lower school building. The building also includes a library/media center and art room for all grades. ICCS became only one of two schools in the Memphis area that incorporated "Mindfulness" into the Pre-K through high school curriculum. Intensive Spanish language instruction began in Pre-K and continued through high school. Students could have also choose French foreign language instruction in middle and high school. Other programs included STEM underwater and land-roving robotics teams, Orff music instruction, daily foreign language courses in all grades, and Accelerated Reader. High school students had the opportunity to earn college credit through

Christian Brothers University Christian Brothers University is a private Catholic university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1871 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. History Founded on November 19, 1871, it was estab ...

. For some science honors courses, high school students attended classes alongside college students at Christian Brothers University in the Cooper-Wilson Center for Life Sciences.

Closure of the school

On May 26, 2020, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School announced it would permanently close its high school due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The statement, released by Bishop Robert W. Marshall Jr., said the pandemic caused financial difficulties that made it "impossible for the parish of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to continue to operate the high school portion" of the school. Students had the opportunity to transfer to

Saint Benedict at Auburndale St. Benedict at Auburndale High School (SBA) is a diocesan, co-educational, college preparatory school. It teaches grades 9–12 in Cordova, Tennessee, United States. The school colors are red and blue, and the mascot is the Eagle. The schoo ...

, another diocesan high school. The school's pre-K through 8th grade elementary and middle school remained open, but eventually closed on May 24, 2024.

Notable alumni

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

* Margaret Scobey, former United States Ambassador to Egypt and Syria.

References

External links

School Website
* * IC In the New

{{authority control 1921 establishments in Tennessee Educational institutions established in 1921 Girls' schools in Tennessee Private elementary schools in Tennessee Private middle schools in Tennessee Private K–8 schools in the United States Private K–12 schools in Tennessee Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis Catholic secondary schools in Tennessee Schools in Memphis, Tennessee