Louisville Collegiate School

Louisville Collegiate School opened its doors on September 23, 1915 in a house at 512 West Ormsby Avenue, becoming the first school in Kentucky committed to preparing young women for college. Virginia Perrin Speed (1879–1968) and her husband William Shallcross Speed (1873–1955) were the principal founders and sustainers of the school, and are largely responsible for the school's success

Needing more land to grow, Collegiate moved in 1927 to its current home on Glenmary Avenue in the historic Highlands, just east of downtown Louisville, in what is now the Lower School.

Although the school initially accepted boys in the primary grades, it remained traditionally a girls' school until 1972 when the Lower School became coeducational.

In 1980, Collegiate's Board of Trustees established coeducation in the Upper School. To accommodate the increase in enrollment, Willig Hall was built in 1983 to house the Upper School. The first coed class graduated in 1987.

As part of the school's Master Plan, Collegiate launched a campaign in 2001 to expand its Upper School because of the growth Collegiate was experiencing. Collegiate expanded its Upper School into a 62,500-square-foot (5,810 m2) building that houses 17 classrooms, seven study areas, three science labs and two computer labs. In 2008, Collegiate launched a Junior Kindergarten.

Louisville Collegiate School has a long tradition of academic excellence and creativity within an exceptionally warm and supportive environment. It is divided into a lower school (Jr. Kindergarten-Grade 5), middle school (Grades 6-8), and upper school (Grades 9-12). Each division has its own administrative head and core faculty. Many faculty members teach in more than one division of the school. The students and faculty enjoy the advantages of a small-school environment while benefiting from the stimulation a college preparatory school can provide. The atmosphere at Collegiate is shaped by the close interaction of the student body and a sense of community within the school.

Louisville Collegiate School is the only Global Online Academy (GOA) member in the state of Kentucky. Global Online Academy connects students to a global network of people and resources. Students and teachers come from more than sixty of the best independent schools around the world. Just by taking a GOA class, you will meet and collaborate with people you might never otherwise know.

Lower, Middle and Upper School students fine arts curriculum:

• Visual art (drawing, painting, printmaking, 3D sculpture)
• Vocal music
• Instrumental music
• Drama
• Visiting artists

• Sallie Bingham (1954), author and playwright
• Tori Murden McClure (1981), first woman to row solo across the Atlantic
• Jane Metcalfe (1979), co-founder of Wired Magazine

• Louisville Collegiate School homepage
• Louisville Collegiate School on Flickr