ParagraphLife has been busy for Muna Olaniyi ever since the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission unanimously approved her dream of opening a career based public charter school to serve families in Orange Mound and South Memphis.Empower Memphis Career and College Prep remains on track to open in the fall 2024, but Olaniyi says there are still a lot of important decisions to make before then.

Search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) announced the five finalists it’s picked to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools Friday morning.The firm picked two previous finalists, one previous candidate, and two newcomers from a pool of 22 applicants for the long-vacant post.

Darrell Grady says his child was at risk of retention in the second grade. That experience, combined with his own time as a former Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) student who got caught up in the criminal justice system, convinced him to pull his child out of MNPS.Grady told members of the Metro Nashville School Board that even though he’s lost faith in the school system, he hopes the updated GoSchoolBox, Inc. tutoring vendor contract will actively engage with parents when children like his needs help.

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.

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.

Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) leaders celebrated the district’s surge in graduation rates outpacing the state’s improvement.From 2021, the district’s graduation rates grew from 85.7 percent to 90.5 percent. This 4.8 percent gain surpasses Tennessee’s gain of 1.9 percent by nearly three percentage points during the same period of time.That growth places JMCSS’s graduation rate just .1 percent lower than the state average.

Three members of the Knox County Board of Education continued to work against efforts to establish a public charter school with a history of successfully serving economically disadvantaged and students of color Thursday night.Board members John Butler, Katherine Bike, and Jennifer Owen were among those who unsuccessfully opposed the all-boys Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval last April. The school model replicates PREP Public Schools’ existing Chattanooga Preparatory School in Hamilton County that’s a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Level 5 school, the highest of the state’s academic growth measure.

Members of the Sumner County School Board voted to keep the book “Hey, Kiddo” on library shelves Tuesday after its own author sent a video message to support it."Hey, Kiddo” is the graphic memoir detailing author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s life growing up in a family grappling with addiction.An Ellis Middle School parent filed a request to have the book taken off the library shelves after their sixth-grade child checked out the book. The parent filed the challenge claiming “Hey, Kiddo” contained inappropriate language and depictions of mature content.

Multiple members of the Knox County Board of Education who unsuccessfully opposed Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval in April, are continuing to make it more challenging for the public charter school to open.Knox Prep faced no obstacles working out the details of its charter agreement with district staff, but board members John Butler and Katherine Bike temporarily blocked the contract at last month’s meeting by abstaining on what should have been a routine vote for approval. The board will make another vote on the contract this Thursday and Tuesday’s work session provided Knox Prep’s opponents with another opportunity to continue to challenge it.

Tennessee’s first Montessori public charter school is expanding its personalized learning approach to more students in the Frayser community of Memphis.Monday the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission granted the Libertas School of Memphis’s application to add grades six through eight to its existing Pre-K-5 campus, along with 148 more seats.“We are thrilled that the TN Public Charter School Commission has unanimously approved our charter amendment to serve middle school grades beginning in 2024,” said Libertas school leaders in a letter to parents following approval. “I thank our Board of Trustees for their guidance as we have carefully developed this vision over the last several years, and applaud our teachers and staff for crafting the plan.”The school is one of 16 public charter schools state commissioners oversea, and Libertas leaders say the expansion fills a void traditional public schools in Frayser aren’t filling.

Jauana Luiz Cruz says the transition of moving to Nashville from Mexico was a huge challenge for her elementary school age son.Speaking through an interpreter at Tuesday's Metro School Board meeting, Cruz says language barriers were especially a problem and her son hated school so much she worried the family might have to make an emotionally difficult decision of moving him back to Mexico.That changed after a coworker connected the family with Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary School. The public charter school is among the most diverse in the Maplewood School Cluster and Cruz said her son has thrived there.

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.”

The Williamson County Board of Education voted Monday night to approve a nearly $1 billion updated five-year capital improvement plan which includes construction projects to accommodate the district’s growing student population.The new plan is a significant increase from last year’s total of $700 million. That money would fund 9 new buildings along with major renovations to 9 existing schools along with other renovations and maintenance.

The Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) announced the launch of a new teacher grant program aimed at supporting innovative teaching methods, professional development opportunities, and classroom resources.The Supporting Teachers' Academic Resources (STAR) initiative will offer teachers the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $1,000 each.

Gueller Gonzalez has always placed a priority on ensuring her kids have access to a quality education in a nurturing environment that treats them equally and with respect. The path to that education though hasn’t been the same for each of her five children.Gonzalez’s youngest children have individual education needs that are a better fit in one of Chattanooga’s traditional public schools while her three older children have all found success in public charter schools Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) and Chattanooga Preparatory School.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders have proposed eliminating 675 jobs along with a mix of student programs as they figure out how to cut $150 million in spending from next year’s budget.The budget gap is an expected result of the end of federal pandemic relief programs, which were meant to help school districts manage the impact on student learning. District leaders have been preparing for this day with analyses of how they spent the money, so they can try to preserve what has been most effective for students.

Twenty years ago, Chelsea Bailey was a rising seventh-grader in Memphis who had no idea what a public charter school was.That changed when the founder of the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE) visited her church and encouraged Bailey’s mother to transfer her to the new school.  That decision not only made Bailey a part of the MASE’s inaugural class, but also the first class of students anywhere in Tennessee to attend a public charter school.

Twenty years ago, Chelsea Bailey was a rising seventh-grader in Memphis who had no idea what a public charter school was.That changed when the founder of the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE) visited her church and encouraged Bailey’s mother to transfer her to the new school.  That decision not only made Bailey a part of the MASE’s inaugural class, but also the first class of students anywhere in Tennessee to attend a public charter school.

Memphis-Shelby County School Board member Stephanie Love took a moment during Tuesday evening’s meeting to address the recent shootings in the Frayser community.Love says those shootings claimed the lives of two kids in her district and she called for a discussion on what more can be done for students and communities.