Lausanne Collegiate School is gutting and expanding one of its core buildings in its centennial year, and the $24.6 million, 84,000-square-foot project says something important about where Memphis is headed. The East Memphis private school is not adding enrollment. It is deepening its investment in the students already here, building the kind of learning environment that keeps Memphis competitive for families who have options.
The expanded upper school will include chemistry and biology labs, a dance studio, a drama classroom, an innovation lab, an art studio, a kitchen, a lounge, and collaborative spaces designed around how students actually learn best. Lausanne recently hired its first-ever arts director and a director of productions ahead of the opening of the new arts wing, signaling that this is not just a construction project. It is a reimagining of what a Memphis education can look like.
School leadership has been clear about the data driving this: the longer a student has been at Lausanne, the stronger their college placements and career outcomes. This expansion creates room for that relationship to start earlier and go further. At a time when the National Association of Independent Schools is forecasting 20% of independent schools will close or merge in the next five years, Lausanne is doing the opposite.
Memphis is doing the opposite.
