For a fifth straight year, Tennessee has delayed its plan to start giving A-F grades to its 1,800-plus public schools.Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn notified district leaders Wednesday about her decision for another pause, which she blamed on inconsistency in data caused by three straight years of pandemic-related disruptions across the state.

A new report from Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that school districts throughout Tennessee received a total of nearly $3.5 billion sent directly to districts in COVID-19 recovery funding.That funding, however, was then used by districts for items such as mattress pads, instant pots, toaster ovens, Apple pens, security cameras, sound systems, and sending teachers to a conference in Baltimore. The funds were part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, which has had three phases of funding.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray, who was under investigation over claims that he abused his power and violated district policies, resigned Tuesday under an agreement with the school board that formally ends the inquiry.At a special meeting Tuesday, the nine-member board approved an agreement that will give Ray a severance package equivalent to 18 months’ salary — about $480,000— plus some other benefits. All members voted in favor, except for Stephanie Love, who did not vote.

As KIPP Memphis celebrates its 20th anniversary, CEO Antonio Burt thinks the charter network is on its way to “finding our sweet spot” in Memphis’ changing educational landscape after the pandemic.“I think it’s a time of great opportunity for us — a time for us to say, 20 years later, we’re now stronger than ever,” said Burt, who is beginning his first full school year after becoming CEO in November. “We look forward to taking that momentum and furthering and continuing to bolster our plan.”

There’s not a Hall of Fame for reading competitions in Tennessee but if there were, Pegram’s Sarah Collier would be in it.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board on Tuesday approved just one of four charter school applications for the 2023-24 school year.

The Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education provided school choice supporters with a mixed bag at Monday afternoon's specially called meeting.

With less than three weeks to go before students return to classrooms, Memphis-Shelby County Schools has 220 unfilled teaching positions.

Tennessee currently has no charter schools operating outside the big four cities of Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Rutherford County’s School Board ensured that won’t be the case next year with a historic decision for school choice at its July 18 meeting.

The Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education sent another sign Tuesday night that public charter schools will not have an easy time making their case in Music City.

Nearly 17% of Memphis students in grades 3-12 performed at or above grade-level expectations in math and English on state standardized tests in 2022 — a sign that the district has recovered some ground from the steep academic declines caused by the pandemic.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board on Tuesday agreed to sell the former Brookmeade Elementary School building, located at 3777 Edenburg Drive, to the charter school for $725,000.

Hundreds of Nashville public school children won’t have to endure the uncertainty of switching middle schools next month after all. At a specially called June meeting, the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission voted against Metro Nashville Public School Board’s denial of a request by Knowledge Academies to combine its three schools into one.