Independent review recommends approval for proposed public charter school looking to close the gap for economically disadvantaged Memphis students
As the job market in the greater Memphis area continues to expand, more schools that focus on career and technical education (CTE) and college prep will be in demand. This is especially true for low-income neighborhoods where students face barriers entering the workforce.It’s one reason why the founders of Blueprint College and Career Prep (BCCP) chose the Southeast Memphis communities of Oakhaven and Parkway Village as the location for their proposed public charter school. They say families there want a high-quality public education option that addresses each community’s needs.
Memphis’ Humes school, Elvis Presley’s alma mater, is closing after yearslong turnaround attempt
Humes Middle School in North Memphis will close at the end of this school year as it returns to the Memphis Shelby-County district’s control after a decade in Tennessee’s failed turnaround district for low-performing schools.The last-minute decision to shutter the nearly 100-year-old building, where a young Elvis Presley attended high school, is a change in plans since the fall, when teachers were told the school would stay open, said Bobby White, head of Frayser Community Schools, the charter company that runs Humes for the state’s Achievement School District.
Here’s who will guide Marie Feagins as she takes on new superintendent role in Memphis
New Memphis schools leader Marie Feagins plans to rely on a group of former and current superintendents for support during her transition to the role by working with the Council of the Great City Schools, a national coalition of big-city districts.The council’s work in Memphis could serve as a pilot project for future educators new to the superintendency.
Restored Craigmont High School planetarium enriches solar eclipse for Memphis students
At 12:39 p.m., as the moon took its first bite of the sun, a group of Craigmont High School students looked up at the dome of the school’s planetarium to watch a video showing them exactly what would happen over the course of the day’s solar eclipse.This time, it wasn’t the “missed opportunity” school staff sensed during the last solar eclipse in 2017, when Craigmont’s planetarium was still in disrepair.Following a successful fundraising campaign several years ago, the Raleigh community jewel has become operational again, allowing students to visualize the perfect alignment of the sun, Earth, and moon that makes a solar eclipse happen.
Senate passes plan to enable the University of Memphis to form its own public school district
When Lawrence Blackwell moved his family to Tennessee in 2010 to work for the University of Memphis, he chose to send his son to a unique Pre-K program operated by his new employer.The experience was so positive Blackwell kept his son on the university campus and enrolled him in its elementary school.
Lawmakers from Nashville and Knoxville vote against effort to expand high performing schools in Memphis
By every measurement, the three public schools the University of Memphis operates on its campus are producing academic results.The university has been operating a public school for more than 100 years as a training site for teaching candidates and today that effort serves 1000 students at Campus School, University Middle School, and University High School.
Toni Williams celebrates her accomplishments leading Memphis-Shelby County Schools
Toni Williams spent part of her last school board meeting as the leader of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) looking back at everything she’s accomplished since her first meeting.Board members appointed Williams as interim superintendent in 2022 following the resignation of former superintendent Joris Ray. New superintendent Dr. Marie N. Feagins will officially take over the position on April 1.
New Memphis superintendent’s contract includes ethics clause, reflecting lessons of Ray’s exit
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members say the contract being finalized for incoming Superintendent Marie Feagins reflects the lessons learned after former Superintendent Joris Ray departed the district in scandal.For starters, the proposed contract includes a new ethical conduct clause, board members say. The board voted unanimously to approve terms of the four-year contract on Tuesday.
School districts received nine applications for new public charter schools. A new tool puts each under the microscope.
This year nine potential charter operators met the February 1 deadline to file an application to open a new public charter school.School board members in Memphis, Nashville, and Rutherford County will vote on those applications later this spring, and any parents who are interested in them now have access to an independent evaluation of the proposed schools.Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) launched this year’s edition of the Quality Charter Review on Monday with an evaluation of each application’s academic, operations, and financial plans. The review also provides an outline of each proposed school's strengths and needed improvements.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools poised to spend $12 million ramping up school safety
Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board are expected to approve a plan later this month to spend more than $12 million upgrading school security.During Tuesday’s work session, the board moved approval of those funds to the consent agenda for next board meeting.
New legislation would allow the University of Memphis to form its own K-12 school district
Each school day more than a thousand children and teenagers travel from across Shelby County to the University of Memphis for a reason you may not expect.Those school-aged students aren’t there for a tour, but are instead attending one of three public schools the university operates.
Memphis parent advocate Sarah Carpenter calls President Biden’s proposed budget “an attack on black children”
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.
New Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent now slated to start April 1
The timeline for Memphis-Shelby County School’s new superintendent to get to work is officially moving up.Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School board voted Tuesday afternoon to move Dr. Marie Feagins’ start date to April 1. Previously Feagins was scheduled to start after the end of this school year.
Incoming Memphis schools leader Marie Feagins begins work, set to assume superintendent role April 1
Incoming Superintendent Marie Feagins has started working with Memphis-Shelby County Schools under a per diem agreement, allowing her to begin a transition to the superintendent role while the school board hammers out her contract.Feagins’ temporary employment took effect March 1, according to a press release from school board Chair Althea Greene. Greene said she expects Feagins, a Detroit public school district administrator, to begin officially as MSCS superintendent on April 1, months ahead of the July 1 start that board members had targeted during the search process.
Audit finds Memphis-Shelby County Schools on solid financial ground
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.
Five Memphis students battling sickle cell disease receive scholarship in honor of Interim Superintendent Williams’ mother
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.
Operations leader to leave Memphis-Shelby County Schools
Memphis-Shelby County Schools may have gained a new superintendent this month but the district is losing its Chief of Business Operations.Julius Muse announced his intention to resign at the end of March following the recent passing of his mother.
Board picks Dr. Marie Feagins to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools
The more than yearlong search for a new leader of the state’s largest school district is officially over. Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously picked Detroit Public Schools Chief of Leadership and High School Dr. Marie Feagins to be the district’s next superintendent Friday afternoon.Six board members initially provided the necessary three-fourths majority to approve Feagins, but the remaining three members chose to change their vote to ensure the final tally is unanimous.
Memphis-Shelby County School board will select a new superintendent Friday. Here's how the finalists will address literacy and mental health.
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 Board votes to keep Vision Prep open
Natoria Carpenter says she chose to drive her daughter thirty miles each day to the opposite side of Memphis just to attend Vision Preparatory Charter School.Carpenter was among the crowd of current and former parents who attended Tuesday night’s Memphis-Shelby County School Board meeting to provide support for the public charter school’s request for a new ten-year charter with the district.