Memphis parent advocate Sarah Carpenter is among those blasting President Biden’s proposed FY 2025 budget for potentially cutting valuable support for public charter schools.The president’s budget plan includes a $40 million cut to the Charter School Program (CSP) that provides grants to support the startup of new public charter schools and the replication and expansion of existing public charter schools.

When the top three candidates for superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools make their final cases to community and board members later this week, they will not only be explaining their leadership and academic successes, but also proving how well they can get to know a new community.The school board’s current attempt at a national search for superintendent has produced three out-of-state finalists, positioning the district to have its first leader from outside Memphis in more than a decade. While new-to-town leaders have helmed Memphis public schools in the past, internal candidates have been favored in the last decade.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Tennessee’s largest district, received almost $776 million in federal relief funds to help students recover from the pandemic — more than any other school system in the state.But anyone interested in learning how the district spent that hefty sum might be left scratching their heads.

Parent advocacy group Memphis Lift broke ground on a new facility last week designed to not only serve more parents but also provide them with more assistance.“I got your back!” said Memphis Lift members as they celebrated.The new facility will be named the Brenda Rogers Resource Center, after a longtime community advocate and mentor to Memphis Lift Executive Director Sarah Carpenter. It will provide resources such as a food pantry, computer lab, uniform closet, and area for educational programs.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) superintendent search is officially on hold, much to the frustration of some residents in Memphis.MSCS school board members called a special meeting to discuss the budget on Tuesday and towards the end of the meeting, the board announced that it will be pausing the superintendent search..

Memphis parent advocate Sara Carpenter, Senate Education Chairman Jon Lundberg, House Education Administration Chairman Mark White, and Memphis-Shelby County Teacher of the year Melissa Collins are among the 21 Tennesseans named to the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Steering Committee.

A retention policy tied to state reading test scores is drawing both support and skepticism.

Parents’ movement the Memphis Lift is partnering with the Tennessee Department of Education to help raise awareness of the of the challenges students are facing learning to read and the resources that are available to Memphis families.The partnership is hosting a literacy event later this month to educate families on the importance of literacy and provide free At-Home Decodable books.

Memphis-Shelby County School Board members received a clearer picture of the priorities parents want the next superintendent to have Wednesday night and two of the biggest are a focus on diversity and the ability to create change.The board held the second of three public input sessions this month to give parents and community members a chance to weigh in on the search that began when former Superintendent Joris Ray resigned last August.

The search for a new superintendent to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is seeing disagreement over whether the ideal candidate is already on the job.At last Thursday’s community input session on the superintendent search, some pushed for the permanent instatement of interim superintendent, Tutonial “Toni” Williams, rather than continue the nationwide search.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board on Thursday announced a sped-up timeline for its superintendent search and launched a website to give the public more visibility into the process.The new timeline calls for the board to name the next leader of Tennessee’s largest school district by April 2023 — several months sooner than initially proposed last month. The new superintendent would start between May and July, at least a month before the start of the 2023-24 school year.

As the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board prepares to launch its first national superintendent search in a decade, Charles Lampkin has several thoughts on the qualities he wants to see in the next leader.Lampkin, the father of three MSCS students, thinks the next superintendent should prioritize transparency and be dedicated to rebuilding trust within the community. They should “keep a finger on the pulse” of the district, Lampkin said, and provide greater operations oversight.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board will look nationwide for a replacement for its former scandal-plagued superintendent Joris Ray. The search will begin this month.“The MSCS Board will kick off a national search for a new superintendent this month with a vote to launch an RFP [Request for Proposals] to find a search firm,” board chair Althea Greene tweeted on Friday. “From there, we can hire a firm, engage the community and recruit candidates. We expect to name a new superintendent by the end of 2022-23.”