Lincoln Prep Expands with New Upperclassmen Building

When the upperclassmen of Lincoln Prep return to school on the first day of the 2026-27 school year, they will be welcomed with a new upper-class “hall” in a newly built addition. This stand-alone building is detached from the main building and sets adjacent to the academy’s athletics field.

“The whole building is about 7,200 square feet,” explained Headmaster Eric Tope. “So, nothing massive, but going to be huge for us.” The new build will house new classroom spaces, a senior lounge, a college counseling office, a large central hallway with lockers, exclusive parking spaces for seniors at the entrance, as well as a weight room and athletics concession kitchen that opens right onto the field.

The expansion has been a project two years in the making and is on track to be completed and furnished before students return in August. Tope remembers making the announcement to the then sophomore class that they would be entering the addition during their senior year. “They’re eager to see it, of course,” he shared, adding his own excitement to see their faces when they tour the building for the first time.

The new weight room is a huge upgrade from the current weight room that resides in a storage closet. The spacious college counselor’s office is also an upgrade, and the larger space will allow for meeting will individuals as well as groups when discussing options and opportunities after high school. The senior lounge will be a brand-new addition to the school, allowing a designated space, equipped with a kitchenette and lounge furniture, for students to take a quick break and catch up with classmates in a social setting.

Tope sees the building as an investment in the upper-class scholars and a well-deserved privilege they get to enjoy during their capstone year. But this expansion is also an answer to growing enrollment, allowing for much needed breathing room in the main building. “At any given time, we could have… 100 students that are over here that are not on our main campus.”

“We started the school 12 years ago. It was 140 kids on the prep side and next year we’re going to have 670,” explained Tope. “So, we’ve literally grown the school by almost five times its original size. The last 3 years in particular, our enrollment has just defied all of our expectations, which is a good problem, but the hallways are feeling tight.”

This growth comes at a time when many schools are announcing closures, a fact that Tope appreciates and doesn’t take for granted. He believes that the key to the steady growth of Lincoln Prep and the Great Hearts network of classical charter schools as a whole is their continued partnership with parents, an emphasis on character formation, robust curriculum, and teachers who are genuinely invested in their students.

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