SCS board grants 2-year contract extension to superintendent
The contract amendment increases Joris Ray’s annual salary to $293,550, up 3% from $285,000.
Laura Faith Kebede
Chalkbeat Tennessee
There are 145 articles by Laura Faith Kebede :
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December 2020
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Metro
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November 2020
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Metro COVID learning loss not as bad as predicted in Memphis schools
A Shelby County Schools presentation to school board members this week provided the first systemwide look at student learning loss in the months since school buildings closed due to the coronavirus crisis.
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Metro SCS staff to receive 1% salary increase
Shelby County Schools identified $7.6 million in savings from switching to all virtual instruction since August to make the increases happen. They apply to all full-time and part-time employees, regardless of performance.
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Metro School enrollment has dropped by 33,000 across Tennessee amid pandemic
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn believes some families opted to home-school their children, and others enrolled their kids in private schools, especially in Memphis and Nashville. But the biggest decline was in kindergarten enrollment.
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Metro Deadline passes for SCS students to choose online or in-person learning
Shelby County Schools leaders said survey results won’t be released this week as school leaders do “one last sweep” with parents who have not responded.
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Metro Few teachers opt to return to classrooms, unions say
There could be a shortage of teachers and monitors in January if survey results reflect what association leaders are hearing.
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Metro Memphis students with disabilities will return to classrooms in phases
Shelby County Schools plans to phase in students with disabilities by their grade, some as early as Jan. 4
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October 2020
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Metro School board to consider extending superintendent’s contract
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to give the public notice that it would discuss and vote on amending the annual $285,000 contract sometime in November.
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Metro SCS looks at options to improve air quality in aging buildings
National public health officials have encouraged businesses and schools to improve their air systems to reduce the chances of infection through the air.
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Metro SCS superintendent gets high marks for first year on the job
Joris Ray’s overall score was 4.13 out of 5, showing that he “completely met expectations” during the 2019-20 school year.
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Metro Shelby County Schools enrollment drops 2%
District leaders speculate some students left in favor of in-person learning at charter or private schools because SCS started the year all online.
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Metro Governor, ed chief want to remove consequences from 2021 test scores
Gov. Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the annual state tests, known as TNReady, will be administered as planned, but teachers and schools should be held harmless for the results.
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Education Memphis school board members still hesitant to reopen buildings
Three SCS board members said January is the earliest they feel comfortable reopening school buildings, especially as county health officials this week declared the virus’ autumn “surge” has arrived.
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Metro Tennessee delays schools exiting Achievement School District
The schools that Tennessee took over in the last decade can begin to return to their local districts in Memphis and Nashville in 2024 instead of 2022 as proposed earlier this year.
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September 2020
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Metro Parents petition Shelby County Schools for shorter online classes
The state requires 6.5 hours of daily instruction, which can be met through recorded lessons and students independently completing assignments, as well as teacher-led live lessons.
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Metro Superintendent sets bar for reopening classrooms: daily case counts in single digits
The threshold is not as strict as a demand from teacher protesters who called for keeping all classes online until the county reported no new coronavirus cases for 14 days.
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August 2020
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Metro Tennessee extends grant for free child care for essential workers
The state will pay day care centers to care for small children and supervise school-age children of essential workers who are employees at airports, medical facilities, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, government agencies and construction companies.
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Metro Even online, students will face suspension for misbehavior
Shelby County Schools students will be attending school remotely from home this fall, but the basic rules of school will still apply, with penalties for tardiness, truancy and dress code violations.
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Metro SCS Superintendent: Expect early problems with online learning
Shelby County Schools will have more than 95,000 students online simultaneously when classes begin Aug. 31, Superintendent Joris Ray said. "We're going to learn from our mistakes and we're going to get better and better each and every day."
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Metro Schools can stay open until COVID positivity rate hits 25%, Health Department says
The threshold is dramatically higher than other cities across the nation. New York City’s mayor has said school buildings must shutter if the positivity rate exceeds 3%, and other school districts have vowed to limit in-person learning when the rate hits 5%.
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Metro Shelby County Schools have 100 teacher positions to fill
To find candidates for the open jobs, Shelby County Schools is hosting a virtual hiring fair from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14.
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Metro SCS students won’t have to wear uniforms for online instruction
“However, it is our expectation that they show up to school appropriately dressed,” Maria Stewart, the district’s director of policy, said of the virtual learning rules.
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Metro Most Memphis students are starting school online. But from where?
Churches, day care providers and other places are scrambling for state permission or funding to provide schoolchildren supervision and space to log on to online learning during the day.
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July 2020
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Metro Memphis teacher tests positive for COVID 2 days into in-person training
About 80% of public school students are under Shelby County Schools and will start the academic year online. But some suburban schools, charter schools, and state-run schools plan to have a mix of online and in-person instruction.
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Metro 80 gather to protest in-person instruction in Memphis schools
A Memphis protest echoes a growing call from teachers to start the school year online as coronavirus cases rise nationwide. A recent study of nearly 65,000 people in South Korea showed that children over age 10 spread the coronavirus as easily as adults do.
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