How two Frayser schools escaped Tennessee’s priority list
Trezevant High’s graduation rate is up 12 percentage points in two years, to 79% in 2023-24. But the school nearly doubled in size this year, taking on 400 students from MLK College Prep, a priority school that closed at the end of its term with the ASD. The merge makes way for the new Frayser high, which is set to replace Trezevant’s building. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
A new Tennessee project to improve academic performance at struggling schools is paying off, according to the Memphis participants in two Frayser schools.
Last year, both Hawkins Mill Elementary and Trezevant High shed the so-called priority school designation they had each carried for more than a decade, a marker that identified them among the bottom 5% of schools in the state.
Officials trumpeted the improvements to the Tennessee State Board of Education on Thursday, Nov. 21, as evidence that school turnaround could be successful. At Hawkins Mill, chronic absenteeism plummeted. And at Trezevant, graduation rates climbed closer to the district average.
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Tennessee Department of Education Memphis-Shelby County Schools Trezevant High School Achievement School District Subscriber Only Frayser Hawkins Mill ElementaryThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter who writes about how public policy shapes Memphis. She is currently reporting from Frayser about education and housing. Please write her with your suggestions and story tips.
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