Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is facing pushback for banning five public commenters from all district property.The district made the decision to ban former teacher’s union president Tikelia Rucker, former school board candidate Rachel Spriggs, and local activists Amber Sherman, LJ Abraham, and Damon Morris following disruptions at the special meeting held May 9 when the board announced that the superintendent search will be put on hold.

Administrators with Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) say parents should learn today if their third-graders need to attend summer school and/or tutoring in the fall.The district announced that it plans to send an email to parents of children who took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) English language arts retest last week that explains whether the child scored proficient and what options are available if they didn’t meet that threshold.

Students from the North Memphis Frayser community came together Friday morning to advocate for funding to combine the area’s two high schools into one new school.

The Tennessee Department of Education says four of five third-grade students in the Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) failed to meet the testing threshold to advance to the fourth-grade. That’s the eighth lowest in the state and behind other large school districts including Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Early state test results show Memphis third graders improved in reading this year, and more students in the cohort are mastering state reading goals.But about three-quarters of third graders in Memphis-Shelby County Schools are still not meeting expectations, which means they could face more tests, tutoring, and summer school this year. Unless they hit certain marks along the way, they could be held back.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools wants to clean up the way it cleans up its schools.Last year, the board approved a four-year, $34 million contract with ServiceMaster Clean to provide custodial services across the district. The cost was significantly higher than the previous year, when the work was split between two providers, but MSCS sought a wage increase to $15 an hour, which the district argued would help it hire and retain workers.

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..

More than four months ago Dogwood Elementary 5th grade teacher Alexa Guynes cried tears of joy when her school surprised her with the news she’d won the prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award.Now she has her $25,000 prize.

The recent passage of a teacher pay raise by the Tennessee General Assembly hasn’t quelled calls to improve the compensation for Memphis educators.Multiple teachers and social workers appeared at last week’s Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education meeting to demand better compensation and higher salaries for their work.

Fairley High School students and alumni told the Memphis-Shelby County School Board they want the school to remain open as a public charter school.Fairley is among five public charter schools that have applied to transition out of the state’s Achievement School District (ASD) and into Memphis-Shelby County Schools. School Board members denied all five during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

School board members with Memphis-Shelby County Schools denied all five applications for new public charter schools with one vote Tuesday.The board opted to follow the recommendation of the district review committee and vote down applications by Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls, Pathways in Education, the CHANGE Academy and the Tennessee Career Academy.

A review committee for Memphis-Shelby County Schools recommended a denial for all five new public charter school applications the district received this year, including three schools that received high rankings from independent reviewers.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members decided Monday to keep their search for a new superintendent on pause while they try to reach consensus on what they want for the district and its next leader.

The search for a new superintendent to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools took another unexpected turn Tuesday.Former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Casselius withdrew her name from the search, while search firm Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates recommended an additional candidate, MSCS deputy superintendent Angela Whitelaw.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members postponed finalist interviews for the next superintendent until further notice Saturday following allegations of a lack of transparency.The search firm hired by the district, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, named former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Casselius, Madison Metropolitan School District superintendent Carlton Jenkins, and Interim Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams as finalists for the position.

A national superintendent search that officials promised would restore trust in the embattled Memphis-Shelby County Schools district could yield finalists who don’t meet the board’s own minimum requirements for the role.

The expulsions of two Democratic lawmakers last week may not last long after all.Wednesday afternoon members of the Shelby County Commission unanimously voted to reappoint Representative Justin J. Pearson.  That vote followed a Metro Council move to reappoint Representative Justin Jones to his Nashville seat.