40 recent articles by Laura Faith Kebede:
An investigation into a sexual harassment complaint lodged against Joris Ray several months before he was named interim superintendent concluded there was “no evidence” of wrongdoing.
New Shelby County Schools employees would be eligible for student loan assistance next summer instead of retiree medical benefits, under a district proposal.
With its funding expiring, a Memphis program for students coming out of juvenile detention could end soon, despite a three-year record of job placement and low recidivism.
Many of the student recommendations were rooted in Project STAND, a federally funded program at Carver Academy for students transitioning back to school after juvenile detention. Currently, there are 66 students in the program.
Board members are expected to vote on suspending the search for a superintendent at their regular meeting later this month. If that resolution fails, the board recommended that the Iowa-based firm Ray & Associates conduct the search for about $44,000.
The district’s new analysis on where charter schools are most needed was based on the number of students in various Memphis neighborhoods and the school seats available for them.
Gov. Bill Lee had campaigned on giving more educational choices to low-income families in districts with failing schools. But the original income cap was criticized for being well above what’s considered low-income in Tennessee.
In the past, critics of vouchers have had more time to mount spirited public opposition, often in the form of rallies in Nashville and Memphis, the city that would likely be most affected.
Amid concerns over declining enrollment and aging campuses, the changes are the first step in former superintendent Dorsey Hopson’s facilities footprint plan that could consolidate 28 old facilities into 10 new ones.
School board members in Shelby County have consistently opposed using state funds for private school tuition, and the latest proposal, which expands eligible expenses to tutoring and online courses, is no different, they said.
Even though the Shelby County Schools board is about to hire a national search firm to look for a new superintendent, Joris Ray has not been shy about pushing through initiatives that he believes will improve academic performance in Memphis schools.
Black Memphians make up a large portion of the people who will qualify for the governor’s proposal, but they are hesitant to trust predominately white private schools.
The biggest difference – and most costly for parents – is that traditional vouchers would have covered all tuition costs. Education savings accounts would not necessarily cover all of a student’s private-school tuition.
Some Tennesseans say the income threshold makes vouchers appealing to families for which private school is within reach, compared to students from low-income families who may be looking to escape low-performing schools.
The Republican governor plans to pay for the program’s first year by stockpiling $25 million annually in discretionary funds for the next three years — but he’s not specifying where the money would come after that.
The coalition, called TN Teachers United, launched last week after meeting with two teachers who helped organize statewide walkouts last year in Arizona and West Virginia.
A proposed policy would require Shelby County Schools' 8,700 second-graders to meet eight of 12 points the district tracks to be promoted to third grade.
The board resolution made the case that free bus passes students would help reduce absences in a school district where most students live in poverty and are less likely to have access to a car or enough money for public transit.
The university aims for a third of students to be children of University of Memphis full-time faculty and staff, a third to live within two miles of the school, and a third to be from elsewhere in the district.
State testing is the linchpin of Tennessee’s system for evaluating student achievement. But as technical failures have marred the rollout in recent years, educators have clamored for limits on how the scores are used.
Under new guidelines being developed, Shelby County Schools board members would be able to systematically slow growth of Memphis charter schools.
Less than one month after Joris Ray was named interim leader of Shelby County Schools, he has added two cabinet-level positions and replaced the district’s chief of staff.
Interim Superintendent Joris Ray said Thursday that he would introduce a new organizational chart for Shelby County Schools staff to reference: students are at the top; Ray is at the bottom.
As school board members approved a contract Wednesday for Shelby County Schools’ Interim Superintendent Joris Ray, a vocal contingent of principals, teachers, parents, and students told them that Ray should stay on long-term.
A school board committee said it would vote to reject an education philanthropy’s offer to pay for the district’s superintendent search.
Joris Ray intends to be involved in his interim role as Shelby County Schools superintendent.
Most Memphis schools improved in academic achievement and student growth in the second edition of Shelby County Schools' “scorecard.”
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