“Behind The Headlines,” hosted by Eric Barnes, the CEO of The Daily Memphian, airs on WKNO Channel 10 Fridays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 8:30 a.m. Watch the show now via the video link at the top of this story or listen to the podcast version of the show, which includes extended conversation not included in the TV version, at the bottom.

Shelby County Board of Education Chairwoman Michelle Robinson McKissack joined Behind the Headlines to discuss major changes in the district’s public school system, from school consolidations to a name change. 

Along with those changes, the district faces a major challenge in operating through a COVID-19 surge. In the last full week before Christmas break, the district reported 62 cases among students at its public schools, not including the charter schools in its portfolio. Case counts increased exponentially after winter break. For the week of Jan. 6 through Jan. 12, 2022, the district reported 1,005 cases among students at its public schools. 

In the upcoming school board meeting Jan. 25, the district is set to vote on a series of changes involving school consolidations and rezoning as part of Superintendent Joris Ray’s signature Reimagining 901 plan. 

SCS to vote on school closures next week

However, McKissack said, discussions about these changes preceded Ray taking office.

“When Dorsey Hopson was the superintendent, we tabled a plan because at that point, it was focused on purely buildings and reducing the number of students that were in half-empty buildings. Now, Reimagining 901 is looking at the whole scope, not just the actual structures and buildings, but what’s taking place in those buildings.” 

She used the example of Maxine Smith STEAM Academy, which shares a campus with Middle College High School. McKissack said that campus is bursting at the seams. 

In the proposed changes, Maxine Smith would move to share a building with East High School. The district’s presentation stated that 38% of students attending East attended Maxine Smith. 

The plan also calls for the closures of Shady Grove Elementary and Alton Elementary schools, opting to consolidate those schools with others in their areas. 

“As far as Shady Grove and Alton, those schools are underperforming in terms of size. Families have been leaving those areas for quite some time. So they’re not getting the resources that they need by being only a few hundred students in a building that has room for 600. Therefore, putting them into schools where they’ll have access to more resources is what that’s all about.”

SCS’ ‘Reimagine 901’ plan includes new builds, school closures

Students at Alton Elementary would be rezoned to A.B. Hill, which is just under 2 miles away and has just over half of its seats filled. Most students who attend Shady Grove would be rezoned to Dexter, which will be reconfigured as a K-8 school, while a few will be transferred to White Station Elementary. 

McKissack said the changes are just beginning. When Ray announced the Reimagining 901 plan in April, it called for the closures or consolidations of 13-15 schools over the next 10 years, as well as the addition of five new school buildings. 

Part of the Reimagining 901 plan also includes a name change. If it passes the vote in the Jan. 25 meeting, the district will change the name it does business under to Memphis-Shelby County Schools. 

“We’re very proud. We’re in Memphis and we want to let folks know it,” McKissack said. 

The change would happen gradually over the next five years, using money the district said is already built into the marketing budget to handle the costs associated with the name change, such as a new logo and business cards. 

SCS to rebrand as Memphis-Shelby County Schools

This year, the district has $900,000 set aside in the budget for marketing, and it will use some of that for costs associated with the name change. However, the money is not solely for the name change and is not representative of the total costs, district spokeswoman Jerica Phillips cautioned at the board’s work session Tuesday evening. 

The resolution to be voted on next week is purely symbolic; it states what the district would prefer to be called. Any further action with rebranding costs associated will still be subject to the board’s approval. 

Education is also undergoing changes on the state level, with the state reevaluating its funding formula. Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Education released a draft of its funding plan that determines how much the state gives to each district. 

The move to amend the funding plan, officially called the Basic Education Program, came late in 2021, when Gov. Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced plans to overhaul a system that Lee said had not been meaningfully updated in 30 years. The new plan features a shift to student-centered funding. 

“When they talk about that student-based funding formula, I was really happy about that, because that has not really been the focus over the last 30 plus years,” McKissack said. “So really looking at the individual child instead of this monolithic School District… actually taking it down to the individual level what these students need. That is what I’d like to see.”

Memphis charter networks face shutdown by SCS

However, actions on the state level often come at the expense of larger, urban areas like Memphis and Nashville. 

“I’m guardedly optimistic about it,” McKissack said. “It’s always to be guarded when it comes to Memphis and certainly Shelby County Schools, because a lot seems to be skewed toward other parts of the state.”

Another action on the state level that primarily affected urban districts like SCS and Metro Nashville Public Schools was the 10-year takeover upon creation of the Achievement School District, which consists of priority schools in Memphis and Nashville. Ten years ago, the state stepped in to reform the lowest-performing schools in the state, based on their standards.

Last month, the state announced it would return four of SCS’ schools, which had been in the ASD the longest, to local control. Many called the ASD a failed experiment. 

“It’s tough for everyone when you’re dealing with students who have so many needs and it’s really easy to look on the outside looking in, like, ‘Well, why don’t they just do this? Or why don’t they just do that?’” McKissack said. 

She said the experiment should serve as a reminder that the downfalls of the schools in SCS are not based on a lack of talent or action on the district’s behalf, but on the fact that there are more factors like poverty and extenuating circumstances that have to be addressed.

The four schools — Frayser Achievement Elementary School, Corning Achievement Elementary School, Georgian Hills Achievement Elementary School and Whitney Achievement School — will rejoin Shelby County Schools for the 2022-2023 academic school year.