University Schools to Open First New Elementary School in 113 Years

Partnership with St. George’s Independent School to Transition Kimball Campus to University Schools

April 7, 2025  ̶  ̶ ̶  University Schools and St. George’s Independent School have partnered to transition the St. George’s Memphis Campus to the University’s new Innovative School District, beginning with the 2025-26 school year. Today, the University of Memphis Board of Trustees voted to approve the acquisition of St. George’s location at 3749 Kimball Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. The elementary school will operate under the new name “Campus School Kimball.” This marks the first elementary school opened by the University of Memphis since the founding of the Training School, alongside the founding of the University, in 1912.

The launch of Campus School Kimball was made possible by last year’s Innovative School District Act, a bipartisan legislative effort (SB 2557 and HB 2678) led by Representative Mark White (R-83) and Senator Brent Taylor (R-31) which authorized the University of Memphis to operate a local education agency, or LEA, as the state’s first Innovative School District.

University Schools district leaders have since been working with a Strategic Expansion Team comprised of local education and industry leaders to develop a 10-year, slow-growth and community-informed strategic expansion plan that promotes excellence in teaching and enthusiasm for learning while addressing the current demand for enrollment, evident in the current University Schools waitlist of over 2,000 students.

“This is an exciting opportunity for University Schools to expand its reach in the University district and aligns with the vision of our Strategic Expansion Team,” said Dr. Sally Parish, vice provost and director of schools for the University of Memphis. “We appreciate the opportunity to continue the long-standing tradition of providing children with access to a high quality education at this site and look forward to launching our district’s second public elementary school.”

All elementary students currently enrolled at the St. George’s campus will have the opportunity to remain at Campus School Kimball as students in the University Schools Innovative School District, and then matriculate through University Schools as middle and high school students.

The University Schools at the UofM serve over 1,200 students from birth to graduation. Starting with its founding school, Campus Elementary School, the schools have served as the training site for teaching candidates for the past 113 years and have historically been among the highest performing school systems in the state of Tennessee.

The mission of University Schools is to provide the children of our community with educational experiences that enhance their development from birth to graduation and promote dynamic research, collaborative partnerships and innovative practices.

“The opportunity to grow our district through the launch of Campus School Kimball is good for the community and everyone involved,” said UofM Board of Trustees Chairman Cato Johnson. “We are fortunate to have a partner in St. George’s that trusts us to continue its decades-long commitment to this school site and is eager to engage more students and families in our Innovative School District by extending our University Schools reach into the Sherwood Forest neighborhood, right next to our University of Memphis Park Avenue campus.”

Media Contact:

Parker King, Assistant Director

University Media and Public Relations

University of Memphis

tpking1@memphis.edu

(O) 901.678.4822