Construction will begin this summer at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Jackson on new classrooms for grades one through four plus a new kitchen and dining hall referred to as the commons.
“The existing gym and performance auditorium will stay but the facility around it will be torn down,” said Stephanie Garriga, associate head of school for advancement and community relations at St. Andrew’s.
“The good news is that the building won’t be torn down for another year while we’re in construction, allowing our students to stay in the current classrooms until they can move to the new classrooms.”
In the fall of 2026, students will be welcomed into new classrooms as part of the first phase to replace the Lower School building, which is the main one on the campus at 4120 Old Canton Road.
A groundbreaking is scheduled for May 2 in conjunction with the school’s annual tradition of celebrating May Day.
For almost two years, the school has been in the quiet phase of the Making the Way Capital Campaign that will fund the new building. The current building, opened in 1966, was described at the time by Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Billy Skelton as an “architectural and educational wonderland.”
“We have now raised over $16 million toward Phase I,” Garriga said, of the total $21 million needed for it.
Gifts from parents, grandparents, alumni and local foundations account for the $16 million, she said. Three donors have kicked in $2 million each, she said.
Another $11 million is needed for Phase II, which will bring the total cost of the project to $32 million.
Construction on Phase II is expected to begin after completion of Phase I but it is driven by fundraising, Garriga said. Some schools use bonds as a funding mechanism, but St. Andrew’s does not.
“This is probably the biggest thing in St. Andrew’s history,” Garriga said. “It is an enormous project to replace our original, now almost 60-year-old building that has been a staple in a St. Andrew’s education and has helped produce an enormous body of alumni doing fascinating things around the world.
“Our alumni have mixed emotions about saying goodbye to the building, but we’ve tried to educate them that it is time. We looked at a potential renovation but adding the technology that wasn’t there when the building was built kept the costs rising— and without the longevity of a new building.”Jack Allin, a graduate of St. Andrew’s who is also a St. Andrew’s parent and a principal at Wier Boerner Allin Architecture, and the team at Wier Boerner Allin Architecture have designed the master plan for the campus.
“It’s particularly powerful for our community because
Jack’s grandfather, Tom Biggs, was the architect for the original Lower School building,” Garriga said.
The master plan calls for the current May Day field to become part of the location of multiple buildings that will open onto a close, an Anglican term for an enclosed green space, and a plaza that can be used for the student gardening program as well as an outdoor classroom or performance space.
Students, who have seen the plans, have described the green space as “like having their own secret garden,” she said.
Two two-story buildings will house the classrooms for grades one, two, three and four. Every grade will have four classrooms, the same as it has been for many years.
“Each grade will be a separate neighborhood with a common area for collaborative and specialized work,” Garriga said. The classrooms will have opportunities for dual projection, lots of natural light, reading nooks and window seats.”
Phase II will include a new library, a maker’s space focused on innovation and building, science labs, an art studio and a chapel. The gym, auditorium and dance and music studios will be renovated during Phase II.
The Lower School has an enrollment of about 250 students and that’s what the new facility is designed to accommodate.
“The facility will be about the same size as our existing facility,” Garriga said. “We intend to maintain our very low student to teacher ratio. While classrooms will be large with natural light and opportunities to move around the classroom, the goal is not to make the facility bigger.”
The entrance to the campus will be moved south of the current one so that it ties in with buildings on the south side of the campus and a parking area located there.
Plans are to build a new May Day field and add more parking places on the north end of the campus.
No changes will be made to the Lois Kennedy Hall, the Erasmus Building and the Gertrude C. Ford Hall, which are located on the south side of the campus. “Those buildings house our Foundations Program (infants through two-year-olds) and our early childhood program (Pre-K and Kindergarten),” Garriga said.
Through the years, thought has been given to moving the Lower School to the school’s north campus in Ridgeland, which houses grades five through 12.
“A couple things played into our decision to stay in Jackson,” Garriga said. “The first was our mission to be a diverse educational community, to set the bar on innovative teaching and to share what we do by collaborating with those in our greater community. To that end, our board of trustees felt it was best to stay committed to our capital city. “
Also factored in, she said, was the recently added Foundations program and the school’s early childhood facility, Lois Kennedy Hall. “We want to keep those programs together as they all work in tandem to inspire lifelong learners,” Garriga said.
