Smith System Partners with The Design Besties and School Specialty to Bring Grizzlies Prep Library to Life

September 25, 2026

Collaboration will create a student-centered library designed to inspire curiosity, connection and a love of learning at Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School.

MEMPHIS, Tenn., September 24, 2026 — Smith System, a leading manufacturer of innovative furniture designed specifically for learning environments, is proud to partner with The Design Besties and School Specialty to bring a new student library to life at Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School in Memphis, Tennessee.

The project will mark an exciting first for The Design Besties, the nonprofit collective behind the nationally recognized Teachers’ Lounge Movement. While the organization has transformed educator spaces across the country, the Grizzlies Prep project will extend its human-centered approach to its first dedicated student space.

For Smith System, the opportunity closely aligns with the company’s purpose: creating environments that enable the genius inside every student.

Smith System will provide the furniture for the new library, helping transform the space into an inviting, flexible environment where students can read, explore, collaborate, connect and discover new ideas. The Design Besties is leading the vision and design for the space, while School Specialty will provide the installation expertise to help bring the finished environment together.

"At Smith System, we believe every student deserves an environment that inspires them to discover, connect, create and grow,” said Amy Damstrom, Regional Sales Manager.

“When we learned about The Design Besties’ vision for Grizzlies Prep, we immediately saw an opportunity to put our purpose into action. A library can be so much more than a place to find a book. It can be a place where a student discovers an interest, finds a sense of belonging, works alongside a friend or simply finds the right place to be themselves and learn.”

Designing for More Ways to Learn

The new library will be designed around the idea that students learn in different ways and need environments that give them choices in how they engage.

Rather than designing the library around a single type of activity, the space will provide a variety of settings to support independent reading, collaboration, conversation, exploration and community. Flexible furniture will allow the environment to respond to different activities while creating places where students can feel comfortable and supported.

That approach reflects Smith System’s belief that the physical environment can play an important role in removing barriers to learning. When students have access to spaces that support different needs, preferences and ways of learning, the environment can become another tool educators use to help students participate and thrive.

“This partnership with Grizzlies Prep lets us carry our mission forward in an entirely new way,” said Rhobin DelaCruz, President of The Design Besties.

“We want this student space to communicate something from the moment students walk through the door: you belong here, you are supported here, and your future is worth investing in. Partners like Smith System and School Specialty will help us turn that vision into a real environment for these students.”

Partnership Will Bring the Vision to Life

The project will bring together organizations with complementary expertise around a shared goal: creating a meaningful environment for the students of Grizzlies Prep.

The Design Besties will bring the creative vision for the library and their experience designing spaces centered around wellbeing, belonging and connection. Smith System will contribute furniture purpose-built for education, with solutions that support flexibility, movement, comfort and multiple ways of learning. School Specialty will provide furniture installation, helping translate the design into a finished environment ready for students.

Together, the partners will create more than a newly furnished library. They will create a place designed around the students who will use it every day.

“Projects like this demonstrate what is possible when design, educational expertise and strong partnerships come together around students,” said Jeremy Westbrooks, Director of Strategic Partnerships at School Specialty. “We are proud to work alongside Smith System and The Design Besties to help bring this environment to life for the Grizzlies Prep community.”

A New Chapter for Grizzlies Prep

For nearly 15 years, Grizzlies Prep, the only school backed by an NBA franchise, the Memphis Grizzlies, has served students in grades 6–8 through hands-on learning, character development and a strong academic foundation. The school’s move to its new South Memphis campus represents a significant new chapter, including the launch of the Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory STEAM School for Girls.

The new library will be shared by students within the expanded Grizzlies Prep community and will serve as a place for curiosity, discovery and connection.

For Smith System, that impact is at the heart of the partnership.

Every student has genius inside them. The spaces surrounding them should help bring it out.

By supporting the Grizzlies Prep library alongside The Design Besties and School Specialty, Smith System will help create an environment where students can explore new ideas, educators can inspire possibility and the school community can come together around a shared love of learning.

About Smith System

Smith System is a leading manufacturer of innovative furniture designed specifically for learning environments. For more than a century, Smith System has combined research, thoughtful design and durable manufacturing to create flexible solutions that support the evolving ways students learn.

From classrooms and libraries to collaborative, outdoor and in-between spaces, Smith System designs furniture around the needs of students and educators, helping schools create environments that support choice, movement, comfort, connection and engagement.

Our purpose is simple: creating environments that enable the genius inside every student.

About The Design Besties

The Design Besties is a nonprofit design collective founded by Nikki Watson, Rhobin DelaCruz, Lori Johnson and Whitney Atkinson. Through its nationally recognized Teachers’ Lounge Movement and other community-centered design initiatives, the organization transforms overlooked spaces into environments that foster wellbeing, belonging and connection. By partnering with schools, brands and communities, The Design Besties shows the power of thoughtful design to support the people who teach, learn and serve.

About School Specialty

With a 60-year legacy, School Specialty is a leading provider of comprehensive learning environment solutions for the preK-12 education marketplace in the U.S. and Canada. This includes essential classroom supplies, furniture and design services, educational technology, sensory spaces, science curriculum, learning resources, professional development, and more. School Specialty believes every student can flourish in an environment where they are engaged and inspired to learn and grow. In support of this vision to transform more than classrooms, the company applies its unmatched team of education strategists and designs, manufactures, and distributes a broad assortment of name-brand and proprietary products. For more information, go to SchoolSpecialty.com.