Superintendent Toni Williams says teacher retention could improve school letter grades in Memphis

Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams says improving teacher retention could play a positive role in elevating low-graded schools on the state’s recently released School Letter Grades. The A through F grading system is designed to provide families with a transparent and concise picture for how well public schools are performing.Williams says the district will be taking a more holistic approach to retain teachers in the future, including preserving tutoring and small group instruction initiatives, adding more coaching for teachers, paying for education assistants to enter the profession, and giving veteran teachers longevity bonuses.Williams made those comments last week on her weekly radio news segment, “Tea w/ Superintendent Toni” on "The Voice of MSCS." District Executive Director of Planning and Accountability Bill White joined her for a discussion on the different ways the district is planning to ensure the School Letter Grades paints a full picture of what the district is offering.“We know there are kids out there who need teachers and need quality teachers so it’s real,” said White. “(It’s) very real and very concerning.”The teacher shortage in Memphis is part of an ongoing issue state and nationwide. Last July, the Tennessee Department of Education spent months gathering feedback from teachers across the state on what can be done to keep high-quality teachers.State lawmakers also passed Governor Bill Lee’s legislation to raise teacher salaries, making Tennessee one of the states with the highest starting pay for teachers. MSCS also included teacher pay raises in its 2023-2024 budget plan.“We put a lot on our teachers. We want them to be sometimes even parents at some points so just keeping our teachers lifted, but not only lifted; making sure that we’re giving them supports to be able to address the needs of students,” said Williams.Additionally, Williams and White invited parents and teachers to visit the schools, talk with school leaders, and see what they have to offer as the letter grades will not reflect the work happening behind the scenes.Only 9 schools in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district received an A on School Letter Grades and 30 received a B grade. 87 schools received a D or F grade.