Search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) announced the five finalists it’s picked to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools Friday morning.The firm picked two previous finalists, one previous candidate, and two newcomers from a pool of 22 applicants for the long-vacant post.

Darrell Grady says his child was at risk of retention in the second grade. That experience, combined with his own time as a former Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) student who got caught up in the criminal justice system, convinced him to pull his child out of MNPS.Grady told members of the Metro Nashville School Board that even though he’s lost faith in the school system, he hopes the updated GoSchoolBox, Inc. tutoring vendor contract will actively engage with parents when children like his needs help.

Dozens of faith-based leaders gathered around Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Interim Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams Wednesday to denounce a Satanic club that’s planning to rent space at a local elementary school.Non-theistic religious non-profit organization The Satanic Temple (TST) plans to begin hosting the After School Satan Club at Chimneyrock Elementary School on Jan 10.

A new report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found both Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools are facing more competition for students than most other large school districts.The study ranked both districts 21 out of the top 125 school districts for the percentage of students in grades 1 through 8 that attend public charter, private, or home schools instead of district run schools.

Tennessee’s education system must do more to help minority and economically disadvantaged students earn postsecondary degrees in order to meet the state’s workforce needs, a report by an education policy and advocacy organization warned.The State Collaborative on Reforming Education’s 2024 report, released at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, lauded Tennessee students’ overall progress on standardized tests since the pandemic, and a rebound in the number of students attending college during that time. But the group noted that fewer students were finishing college within six years of graduating high school.

Tennessee’s education system must do more to help minority and economically disadvantaged students earn postsecondary degrees in order to meet the state’s workforce needs, a report by an education policy and advocacy organization warned.The State Collaborative on Reforming Education’s 2024 report, released at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, lauded Tennessee students’ overall progress on standardized tests since the pandemic, and a rebound in the number of students attending college during that time. But the group noted that fewer students were finishing college within six years of graduating high school.

Southwest Tennessee Community College Director of Admissions, Recruitment, and K-12 Policy Rosie Britton says last year Tennessee families left more than $2 billion in student aid unclaimed due to missed opportunities or missed information regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).This year students will have less time to start the application process.The FAFSA application process has historically run from October 1 through June 30 but this year it will open no later than December 31.

Interim Memphis-Shelby County School Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams says her administration is evaluating multiple strategies to move the district forward once federal COVID relief funding dries up.The federal government plans to halt providing schools districts with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) funds next September.Memphis-Shelby County Schools has received a total of $776 million in ESSER funds. This money has helped support infrastructure needs along with providing advanced placement and vocational courses.

Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) leaders celebrated the district’s surge in graduation rates outpacing the state’s improvement.From 2021, the district’s graduation rates grew from 85.7 percent to 90.5 percent. This 4.8 percent gain surpasses Tennessee’s gain of 1.9 percent by nearly three percentage points during the same period of time.That growth places JMCSS’s graduation rate just .1 percent lower than the state average.

Three members of the Knox County Board of Education continued to work against efforts to establish a public charter school with a history of successfully serving economically disadvantaged and students of color Thursday night.Board members John Butler, Katherine Bike, and Jennifer Owen were among those who unsuccessfully opposed the all-boys Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval last April. The school model replicates PREP Public Schools’ existing Chattanooga Preparatory School in Hamilton County that’s a Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Level 5 school, the highest of the state’s academic growth measure.

Members of the Sumner County School Board voted to keep the book “Hey, Kiddo” on library shelves Tuesday after its own author sent a video message to support it."Hey, Kiddo” is the graphic memoir detailing author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s life growing up in a family grappling with addiction.An Ellis Middle School parent filed a request to have the book taken off the library shelves after their sixth-grade child checked out the book. The parent filed the challenge claiming “Hey, Kiddo” contained inappropriate language and depictions of mature content.

Multiple members of the Knox County Board of Education who unsuccessfully opposed Knoxville Preparatory School’s approval in April, are continuing to make it more challenging for the public charter school to open.Knox Prep faced no obstacles working out the details of its charter agreement with district staff, but board members John Butler and Katherine Bike temporarily blocked the contract at last month’s meeting by abstaining on what should have been a routine vote for approval. The board will make another vote on the contract this Thursday and Tuesday’s work session provided Knox Prep’s opponents with another opportunity to continue to challenge it.

When the founders of Nashville Classical proposed the new public charter school in 2013, acquiring facilities was a huge challenge.School leaders had to meet with future parents in church basements and parks.Addressing that charter facility gap is among the priorities the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) announced it plans to advocate for in 2024. Tennessee SCORE unveiled its annual State of Education in Tennessee report Tuesday morning and made the case that charter facilities are one key area Tennessee needs to address to ensure school support meets student needs.

Underperforming Indiana third graders who are held back show significant progress for the next five years, a research study has found.The study examined data from 2011-12 to 2016-17 and found that students who were retained in third grade scored about 18 points higher in English language arts and math in fourth grade than low-performing peers who were not retained. The gains continued through seventh grade, through at a slower rate.

Tennessee’s first Montessori public charter school is expanding its personalized learning approach to more students in the Frayser community of Memphis.Monday the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission granted the Libertas School of Memphis’s application to add grades six through eight to its existing Pre-K-5 campus, along with 148 more seats.“We are thrilled that the TN Public Charter School Commission has unanimously approved our charter amendment to serve middle school grades beginning in 2024,” said Libertas school leaders in a letter to parents following approval. “I thank our Board of Trustees for their guidance as we have carefully developed this vision over the last several years, and applaud our teachers and staff for crafting the plan.”The school is one of 16 public charter schools state commissioners oversea, and Libertas leaders say the expansion fills a void traditional public schools in Frayser aren’t filling.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

About 3,500 social studies teachers converge on Nashville this weekend for their annual national conference, but not without some pushback for meeting in a state with multiple laws aimed at classroom censorship and restrictions related to discussing race and gender.“Some of our members have worried that this could be a hostile environment for them,” said Wesley Hedgepeth, a social studies teacher in Henrico County, Virginia, and this year’s president of the National Council for the Social Studies.

Jauana Luiz Cruz says the transition of moving to Nashville from Mexico was a huge challenge for her elementary school age son.Speaking through an interpreter at Tuesday's Metro School Board meeting, Cruz says language barriers were especially a problem and her son hated school so much she worried the family might have to make an emotionally difficult decision of moving him back to Mexico.

That changed after a coworker connected the family with Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary School.