Arieale Munson says the private school her 12-year-old son Steven attends in Memphis is putting him on the path to his dream of becoming a paleontologist.St. George’s Independent School provides Steven with an outdoor club where he looks for fossils and archives. Munson says the school also provides her son with access to extra-curricular activities like Lacrosse, tennis, and swimming.

The Jackson-Madison School Board officially authorized its attorney to begin pursuing a legal challenge to last month’s decision to grant the county’s first public charter school.Board attorney Dale Thomas says he now plans to file a lawsuit in hopes of overturning the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission’s decision in favor of the application from American Classical Education (ACE) to open a school in Jackson.  The commission’s decision overturned an earlier vote by school board members against ACE in July.

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.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee plans to unveil the details of a proposed statewide expansion to the Education Savings Account (ESA) program Tuesday.The current ESA pilot program allows qualifying economically disadvantaged students who attend Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Hamilton County Schools, or a school that was in the Achievement School District on May 24, 2019, to apply state and local dollars toward education expenses at private schools.

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.

Recent conversation around school performance in Tennessee has been dominated by student growth and achievement measures.  This is understandable, as both provide valuable insight for school accountability tools and have a strong correlation with student outcomes.Yet an often-overlooked factor in the formula for student success is college and career readiness.  After all, classroom work means little if it is not aligned with postsecondary or workforce expectations.Aligning K-12 education with workforce needs requires a culture of communication, collaboration, and innovation between public schools and industry leaders.  In Tennessee, some communities have taken the lead on this initiative, and we believe they deserve recognition.

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.

More than 5,200 students are currently enrolled in the state’s Teaching as a Profession (TAP) apprenticeship program and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) anticipates that number to increase with the implementation of a new pre-apprenticeship pilot program.The state-certified pre-apprenticeship program aims to provide high school students with hands on teaching experience in their local communities.“TAP courses are a valuable opportunity for students to get hands-on classroom experience while still in high school and this new pilot program will help to better prepare them earlier on to enter the teaching profession,” said TDOE Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds.

Nashville and Shelby County governments have pulled out of their more than 3-year-old legal dispute with the state over a 2019 private school voucher law.The paperwork to withdraw their latest appeal was filed quietly on Aug. 25 with the Tennessee Court of Appeals, according to court documents.

Federal Pell Grants, awarded to students demonstrating exceptional financial need, have not kept pace with the rising costs of higher education in Tennessee according to a new study by the Education Trust. The organization’s research also found evidence that financial barrier is hindering the graduation rate of Pell-eligible students. They graduate at a rate of 22 percent below students who don’t receive the grant according to the study.

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.

State Senators Jon Lundbeg, R-Brisol, and Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, and Representative William Slater, R-Hendersonville, utilized their downtime in between federal education funding hearings Tuesday afternoon to learn more about a unique public charter school that’s about to expand into the suburbs.The three lawmakers toured the campus of the Nashville Collegiate Prep on Bell Road.

Students from Nashville’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement urged members of the Metro Nashville Board of Education to be more proactive in the battle against climate change during Tuesday’s meeting.Hillsboro High School senior and Sunrise Movement member Sophia Payne told board members she was grateful for the environmentally conscious school renovations taking place and that it is crucial to continue addressing global environmental issues.

Over the course of 6 meetings, state lawmakers on the Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding have heard testimony from education experts who’ve either asked them not to recommend rejecting federal education funding or cautioned about the uncertainties and challenges of doing so.That changed Wednesday afternoon when lawmakers heard from Sal Nuzzo with the conservative Florida think tank the James Madison Institute and Steve Johnson with the Center for Practical Federalism.

A leader of the panel exploring whether Tennessee can reject federal education funding says he doesn’t expect the state to do so, even if it can find a way.Sen. Jon Lundberg, who co-chairs the special legislative committee looking into the idea, said that based on what the panel has learned during two weeks of hearings that ended on Wednesday, it would be premature to make big changes in the funding streams for Tennessee students.

Shirley Quinn says Promise Academy Spring Hill’s name played an important role in why she chose to enroll her granddaughter there.The Memphis fourth-grader struggled to learn to read in her traditional zone school and Quinn thought a public charter school offering “promise” might lead to something better.“There’s something about that name, ‘Promise’. They promise not to leave my grandbaby behind, you know I’m just thinking this in my head,” said Quinn.Shortly after enrolling, Quinn met with intervention teachers to plan a way to get her granddaughter caught up.Quinn says she was initially concerned the intervention team wouldn’t be able to help but her fears were unfounded.

A legislative panel exploring whether Tennessee should reject federal funding for its K-12 students isn’t allowing public testimony from Tennesseans about how federally funded programs are run or how they affect their children.And it’s not hearing from Tennessee-based advocacy groups either.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is recognizing the impact apprenticeship programs are making in the lives of students this week by celebrating National Apprenticeship Week.The department operates 45 pre-apprenticeship programs that prepare high school students interested in transitioning to one of seven different registered apprenticeship programs across 15 different areas of coursework.