The ongoing Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent search is receiving helpful information from an unlikely source.At Tuesday’s Memphis-Shelby County School Board meeting, the district revealed it has received around 60 comments on the search at high school sporting events as part of the district’s “Tailgate Talks.”The district has held two Tailgate Talks this month, including one last week at Kirby Stadium that included a large number of comments from younger Memphis residents.“We are doing our due diligence to find a superintendent, but we're taking the time, getting out in the community. Somebody said why are we doing this, this is why we're doing this. Because these young people at Kirby…told us that they felt like they actually had a voice because we stopped, we listened, and we talk with them. Not to them, there's a difference,” said board vice chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman.

A new dashboard launched by the Tennessee Comptroller this week will help parents navigate through misinformation about public charter schools.  The dashboard allows users to research the racial demographics and enrollment numbers of districts that offer public charter schools, and the specific info for each school.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is hosting a series of “Tailgate Talks” before sporting events across Memphis to learn more about what parents are looking for in their next superintendent.This is the latest step in the ongoing MSCS superintendent search.“As the MSCS Board of Education continues to engage the community in the national search for a superintendent, families are encouraged to join Tailgate Talks. At the events, families can stay informed by enjoying a quick bite and chat with School Board members about the search before the game,” said the district in a news release.The first two tailgate talks took place last week at Kirby Stadium and Southwind Stadium where MSCS board members made themselves available to talk one hour before the games.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is hosting a series of “Tailgate Talks” before sporting events across Memphis to learn more about what parents are looking for in their next superintendent.This is the latest step in the ongoing MSCS superintendent search.“As the MSCS Board of Education continues to engage the community in the national search for a superintendent, families are encouraged to join Tailgate Talks. At the events, families can stay informed by enjoying a quick bite and chat with School Board members about the search before the game,” said the district in a news release.The first two tailgate talks took place last week at Kirby Stadium and Southwind Stadium where MSCS board members made themselves available to talk one hour before the games.

Alice Lockett is an example of the generational challenges many families in Memphis face.As a teenager she dropped out of school after becoming pregnant and had to support her daughter by working at fast food restaurants.

Patricia Adams graduated from Fairley High School in 1989, when the school was still a traditional public school in Memphis.Since then, she’s witnessed the school undergo two different leadership changes, including what she calls a rebirth when Green Dot Public Schools took over to run Fairley as a public charter school in the state-run Achievement School District (ASD). Adams is currently serving as the organization’s Director of Operations.

Zephan Alexander describes his time as a public-school student in Memphis as a challenge. He struggled in traditional public schools and public charter schools but says things changed when he enrolled in a former public charter school operated by Pathways in Education (PIE).PIE operated that school under the state-run Achievement School District from 2014-2022. Alexander was among those speaking in support of allowing the organization to return to Shelby County.

Zephan Alexander describes his time as a public-school student in Memphis as a challenge. He struggled in traditional public schools and public charter schools but says things changed when he enrolled in a former public charter school operated by Pathways in Education (PIE).PIE operated that school under the state-run Achievement School District from 2014-2022. Alexander was among those speaking in support of allowing the organization to return to Shelby County.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board voted Tuesday to approve a $5 million deal to buy 45 acres of land for the new high school in Cordova, after the district terminated an agreement to buy a smaller parcel nearby.

A crowd of roughly two dozen Shelby County parents and educators gathered Wednesday night to explain why they believe ease of understanding and transparency will be critical to a new resource for grading how well schools are serving students.The public hearing is the latest in a series of forums the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is hosting across the state to gather input to improve the new evaluation tool called School Letter Grades. The department plans to launch it in November to provide the public with an A through F grade for each public school.At Wednesday’s forum at the Southwest Tennessee Community College Macon Cove Campus, parents and educators focused their feedback more on making the School Letter Grades understandable and transparent for parents than on specific changes to accountability measures.

Three of Tennessee’s largest school districts are touting their academic growth on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS).Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS), Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) and Hamilton County Schools (HCS) all put out press releases to celebrate their status as TVAAS Level 5 school districts, the highest distinction available.

Mauricio Calvo, the newest member of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board, took his oath of office next to the children’s section of a public library, with the county’s juvenile court judge swearing him in.

Two of the Memphis activists who were banned in May from entering Memphis-Shelby County Schools property lost a bid in court to have their bans lifted early.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) kicked off the 2023-24 school year Monday morning with teachers holding welcome back signs for students and bands on the steps of their high schools performing.The first day of school was considered successful.“A+ start! 🌟 Our students had a successful first day of school, filled with newness and excitement!” said MSCS on Twitter.”However, without a permanent superintendent, some community members feel that the district is not ready for success in the new school year.

Metro Council member Freddie O’Connell and former Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Assistant Commissioner Alice Rolli beat out a crowded field of candidates to advance to the runoff in the Nashville mayor’s race Thursday evening.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) released new details this week for what the district’s school board will be looking for in the search for a new superintendent.Board members have said they’re aiming to appoint a leader who will accelerate ongoing operational reforms and academic gains, in addition to being a “dynamic, visionary, and adaptable leader.”

Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers will get salary raises and be able to move up the district’s salary schedule faster under an agreement with the two teachers unions.The new schedule is one part of $78 million in new funds the district is putting toward salaries and bonuses, which officials hope will encourage teacher retention and entice new teachers to fill hard-to-staff roles.

A middle school and improved financial education are among the improvement’s residents in Memphis’ Orange Mound community say are desperately needed to improve the area’s challenges with racial inequity and generation poverty.Those suggestions came Wednesday evening during a community forum in Orange Mound for the More for Memphis initiative.

Members of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education voted to deny four out of five applications Tuesday night from public charter schools vying to transition from the state’s Achievement School District (ASD) and into MSCS.The vote means an uncertain future for Humes Middle School, Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School, Cornerstone Prep Lester, and Fairley High School in the 2024/2025 school year. Each school could face closure, a merger into the district’s Izone turnaround school model, or potentially even remain open as public charter schools if leaders successfully appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.Each of the five schools applying for transition to MSCS is doing so because the school is in the last year of a ten-year term with the Achievement School District. The ASD is an intervention run by the state to serve schools that are in the lowest five percent of schools, or a low achieving school across the state.

A short-handed Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education chose an unexpected path in the public charter school approval process Tuesday night. With several members absent, the board voted to support a proposed public charter school that failed to pass multiple reviews while denying others the district itself rated higher.