The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education is poised to approve a dual enrollment agreement for the 2024-25 school year with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. called on local officials to work together and figure out how to cover the remaining costs needed to construct a new STEM education lab at Whitehaven High School at Wednesday’s Shelby County Education Committee meeting.

Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) announced a $3.4 million investment into elevating critical district positions Tuesday.

The Memphis Grizzlies National Basketball Association (NBA) team is providing a donation to provide students at Fox Meadows Elementary and John P. Freeman Optional School with an all-new basketball hoop system.

Ben Frazier says traditional public schools have failed his autistic son.Frazier told members of the Memphis Shelby County School Board last week that his family has faced a lack of communication and accommodation at district-run schools, but everything changed when he enrolled his son at Wooddale Middle School.“When I got my child to Wooddale, everything changed. Wooddale is a family-oriented school. They take care of the kids,” said Frazier. “It’s a neighborhood school, they deal with the community. The staff keeps the parents informed, everything that I was not getting when he was not at Green Dot Schools, I’m getting now. My son is excelling, he came out of his shell, you can’t even tell that my son is on the spectrum because they have worked with him so much and I appreciate Wooddale so much for everything that they have done.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously approved an agreement Tuesday night to spend $28 million increasing teacher salaries.The historic investment will raise the average teacher with a bachelor’s degree’s salary by more than $4,800 in the 20224/2025 school year. Teachers with a master’s degree will average nearly $4,800 more, education specialists will see more than $6,300 more, and those with a doctorate will average more than a $9,900 increase.

New Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins is planning to listen to a diverse set of voices as she charts the path forward for the state’s largest school district.Last week Feagins announced the transition team that will help craft and execute the district’s next strategic plan and over the weekend she joined the co-chairs of that team at a retreat involving education leaders from across the country.

Three proposed new public charter schools in Memphis may have a challenging road finding approval from school board members next week.Tuesday night the Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ (MSCS) charter review team recommended a denial for all three including Blueprint College and Career Prep, Journey Northeast Academy, and the Memphis Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls.Board members are scheduled to vote on each application at its meeting next Tuesday.

When Toni Williams took over as chief financial officer (CFO) for Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) in 2019, the district faced a $58 million deficit and had insignificant savings.Williams worked to change that while overseeing district finances as CFO and eventually interim superintendent. Tuesday night’s school board meeting brought more evidence the district is on a more solid financial ground.The district’s independent auditor Watkins Uiberall announced it anticipates the 2022/2023 district audit will have no findings indicating financial weaknesses or issues of non-compliance on financial statements. That marks the fourth year in a row with no significant financial audit findings.

Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Toni Williams says her mother Shirley Yvette Green was a strong woman and a warrior as she battled sickle cell disease.Williams says her mother told her the pain from the disease was like a stabbing sensation all over her body. Despite that, Williams says her mother would often hide her struggles so others wouldn’t worry.“As a sickle warrior, you’re born into this life. It’s a life that gives you many limitations. A life where at any moment, a sickle cell crisis can happen,” said Williams.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) superintendent search is finally drawing to a close, with school board members now planning to select a new leader for the state’s largest school district on February 9.The decision follows a lengthy interview session last week with all three out-of-state finalists.School board members are considering Atlanta Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Yolanda C. Brown, Portland Public Schools Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and School Communities Cheryl Proctor, and Detroit Public Schools Chief of Leadership and High Schools Marie N. Feagins for the long vacant position.

Memphis-Shelby County School (MSCS) leaders say proactive efforts to winterize schools and increase facility staff is paying dividends during this week’s cold winter weather.For the first time since the merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, the district has a plant manager stationed at each school to provide expertise and additional resources to facilities teams.District leaders say that change played a valuable role supporting the aging buildings that are less energy efficient and require more money and personnel to maintain.

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.

The lengthy search for a new leader of the state’s largest school district is down to three finalists.Tuesday night members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board named three out of state educational leaders to move onto the next phase of the superintendent search process.

One of the biggest challenges the next superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) will inherit is the aging infrastructure of the district’s schools.The average age of school buildings in the district is 64 years old. That’s 24 years older than the recommended life span of school buildings nationwide and district is currently considering options to fund $500 million school upgrades and address the district’s deferred maintenance costs.With an eye towards this challenge, school board members asked each of the five semi-finalists for the superintendent position about their experience with facilities and operations Friday.Their answers could play an important role in the board’s decision tonight to narrow those five down to three finalists. Here’s how all five responded.

Dozens of faith-based leaders gathered around Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Interim Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams Wednesday to denounce a Satanic club that’s planning to rent space at a local elementary school.Non-theistic religious non-profit organization The Satanic Temple (TST) plans to begin hosting the After School Satan Club at Chimneyrock Elementary School on Jan 10.

A new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found both Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools are facing more competition for students than most other large school districts.The study ranked both districts 21 out of the top 125 school districts for the percentage of students in grades 1 through 8 that attend public charter, private, or home schools instead of district run schools.

Interim Memphis-Shelby County School Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams says her administration is evaluating multiple strategies to move the district forward once federal COVID relief funding dries up.The federal government plans to halt providing schools districts with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) funds next September.Memphis-Shelby County Schools has received a total of $776 million in ESSER funds. This money has helped support infrastructure needs along with providing advanced placement and vocational courses.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board approved an expansion request Tuesday night for one the district’s oldest public charter schools.Under the expansion plan, existing K-6 STAR Academy will grow to serve grades K-8.“I want to emphasize the profound impact this amendment could have, granting STAR Academy the opportunity to extend our reach into middle schools. Education is not merely about expanding a school. It’s about uplifting our community,” said STAR Academy Board Chair Gerald Fanion. “This proposed expansion is more than just growth. It represents a commitment to the future of our students and to the community we proudly serve.”

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board approved an expansion request Tuesday night for one the district’s oldest public charter schools.Under the expansion plan, existing K-6 STAR Academy will grow to serve grades K-8.“I want to emphasize the profound impact this amendment could have, granting STAR Academy the opportunity to extend our reach into middle schools. Education is not merely about expanding a school. It’s about uplifting our community,” said STAR Academy Board Chair Gerald Fanion. “This proposed expansion is more than just growth. It represents a commitment to the future of our students and to the community we proudly serve.”