Each school day more than a thousand children and teenagers travel from across Shelby County to the University of Memphis for a reason you may not expect.
Those school-aged students aren’t there for a tour, but are instead attending one of three public schools the university operates.
The University of Memphis has been operating a public school for more than 100 years as a training site for teaching candidates. Today that effort involves an agreement with Memphis-Shelby County Schools to run Campus School for elementary students, University Middle School, and University High School.
The schools operate similar to a public charter school, and are free for students to attend.
Associate Vice President for Educational Initiatives Sally Parish says the three schools serve students from every zip code in the county with an individualized approach that’s different from district run schools.
“We approach each individual student with the specific needs that they have to be able to be successful in our classrooms,” said Parish. “Every educator is an interventionist. Every educator in our schools provides on time supports for students. Sometimes those supports are after school, they’re on weekends, they’re in the summer, but we make sure students have what they need to be successful regardless of what zip code they’re coming from.”
Parish says those teachers also track every student’s individual data daily and students themselves take advantage of university resources. For example, the university’s College of Engineering partners with the school to provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum.
The effort is paying dividends.
All three schools received an A on the state’s School Letter Grades and the state recently named two of them Reward schools for demonstrating high levels of performance and/or growth.
Representative Mark White, R-Memphis, says that success is why he wants to provide the university with a way to expand its schools. He’s proposing legislation that would enable the University of Memphis to create its own independent innovative school district.
“When you find something that works, you need to duplicate it,” said White. “The University Campus School on the campus of the University of Memphis is the highest performing school system in the state of Tennessee right now. In 2022/2023 the university schools had the highest pass rate across all subjects of any school system in the state of Tennessee at 70 percent. The University Schools also had the highest pass rate in English, science, social studies, and they were a close second in math.”
White’s bill advanced out of both the House K-12 Subcommittee and Senate Education Committee this week and supporters argue it’s needed to serve a growing demand.
Under the current agreement with Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the university’s schools are capped at 1000 students and any expansion would need approval from the school district.
Parish says there’s currently a waiting list 1500 students long to fill any seats that open. If the legislation passes, she says the plan is to look at ways to expand to other areas in Memphis and utilize currently vacant properties for educational purposes.
“We know that having students that have to travel to the university campus to be able to receive that type of education is a barrier for some and for many families, they are tireless in their efforts to be able to do that for their children. An innovative school district will allow us to scale that model across our city and serve children where they are and to partner with workforce partners within those communities to ensure that our education is meeting our local community needs,” said Parish.
Parish also told lawmakers the proposal would allow the university to better serve special needs students because it wouldn’t have to depend on resources Memphis-Shelby County Schools hasn’t been providing.
The plan itself appears to be dividing opinions on the district’s school board.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools lobbyist Tony Thompson told members of the Senate Education Committee Wednesday that the school board chair supports the plan but the board itself does not.
He encouraged lawmakers to hold off approving the university’s innovative school district to give new Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins an opportunity to see if she can work out an agreement for the university to expand its schools and address concerns about funding for special needs students.
“I’ll tell you this, our district doesn’t want to lose you,” said Thompson. “What I would ask is that we be given the rest of this year to see if we can’t work something out and if not come back next January and deal with this.”
Parish says the idea of expanding to form an innovative school district didn’t originate at the university. She told lawmakers that state leaders have been urging the University of Memphis to expand for years.
“It becomes harder and harder to say no when the waiting list keeps growing and you have to tell children and families that they don’t get to have access to your schools,” said Parish.
The bill will face a vote in the House Government Operations Committee next week.
If ultimately approved, the legislation would also permit the Tennessee Department of Education to authorize other universities that operate similar schools to open innovative school districts in the future.
