Teaching and Learning Together for More Than Half-Century
The Vestry of Trinity Cathedral Parish established The Cathedral School, as Trinity Day School, in the spring of 1957 under the leadership of The Very Reverend Charles Ashley Higgins, then Dean of Trinity Episocopal Cathedral. On May 12, 2007, The Cathedral School officially celebrated its Golden Jubilee marking its 50th year of "teaching and learning together: reverence, respect and responsibility."

Born September 8, 1912 in Beckley, West Virginia, Charles Ashley Higgins was a fine minister and a man of action. He attended Duke University in Durham, N.C. where he played trumpet with the "Duke Blue Devils," a dance band organized by Higgins and his roommate, Les Brown. In 1937, Higgins graduated from Virginia Episcopal Theological Seminary and accepted a missionary post in China where he would meet his future wife. In 1939, he married Mary Atkinson Tyng, whose parents were also Episcopal missionaries.

Charles, Mary and their infant son were living in Hong Kong when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and soon after, when the British in Hong Kong surreneded to the Japanese, the three were among the 3,000 British, Dutch and American citizens interned by the Japanese as prisoners of war. Ten months later, the Higgins family was placed on a Japanese ship which took them to Portuguese East Africa where they boarded the Gripsholm, a repatriation liner or "mercy ship," which returned them to the United States.

After returning home to the states, Higgins served in churched in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and in Waco, Texas, and in February 1957, Higgins accepted the position of Dean at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock. Among Dean Higgins' many accomplishments throughout his ministry was the establishment of Trinity Day School in the spring of 1957 only months after his arrival in Little Rock. The school was later renamed The Cathedral School.

The Cathedral, featuring traditional English Gothic architectural style, was built in 1884. It serves as our school family's primary worship space and is the heart of The Cathedral School campus.

The two-story Parish House was built in the early 1950's and housed the school's original classrooms for Kindergarten through second grades, a kitchen, a cafeteria and an auditorium, commonly known as Morrison Hall.

The Cathedral House was constructed shortly afterward to house offices of Trinity Cathedral Parish and the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas. In 1966, Lyman Annex was built adjoining the Cathedral House to provide four additional classroom areas.

Major renovation of both church and school facilities began in 1981 with the addition of Chancellor's Hall which showcased a gymnasium, a new kitchen and cafeteria, locker rooms and one more large classroom. The renovation also included offices for the diocese and parish, a large conference room and more space for Christian education. In 1988, the school renovated its first property on the opposite side of Spring Street from the Cathedral. The renovation of Higgins Hall, located at 1612 S. Spring Street and named for our school's founder, created three classrooms, an art lab and a computer lab.

In the fall of 1995, The Cathedral School expanded into the two buildings located on either side of Higgins Hall. Grinnell-Hodges Hall, at 1600 S. Spring Street, now houses our second and fifth-grade classrooms, the Instructional Coordinator's office and our television studio where, "Good Morning Cathedral School," is produced each day by our fifth-grade students. Harrison House, located at 1616 S. Spring Street, is home to the school's administrative offices and serves as a check-in center for all visitors.

In 2005, our Board of Trustees acquired three new properties on Broadway located directly behind and across the alley from our Spring Street facilities. In the fall of 2006, the building located at 1623 S. Broadway became home to The Cathedral School's newly created Development Office and Alumni and Parent Centers.

As needs change and resources become available, The Cathedral School continues to expand its campus and improve its facilities.

http://www.trinitylittlerock.org