19 recent articles by Laura Faith Kebede:

• February 2019

  • Memphis interim superintendent adds two cabinet-level positions in first month on the job

    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.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat Tennessee February 14, 2019

  • As low-performing Memphis charters await vote on their fate, the district asks families to consider other schools

    Shelby County Schools leaders are urging charter families to choose another school for their children, as four charter operators await the Shelby County Schools board’s vote on whether to shut them down.

    By Laura Faith Kebede February 11, 2019

  • ‘I am the least among you,’ says Ray, vowing to put Memphis student needs first

    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.

    By Laura Faith Kebede February 07, 2019

  • Memphis school staff urge board to ‘stay with Ray’ as interim superintendent contract is set

    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.

    By Laura Faith Kebede February 07, 2019

  • Citing appearance of ‘bias,’ Memphis board members plan to reject philanthropy offer to pay for superintendent search

    A school board committee said it would vote to reject an education philanthropy’s offer to pay for the district’s superintendent search.

    By Laura Faith Kebede February 07, 2019

• January 2019

  • The Shelby County Schools board has an open seat. Here’s how to apply

    Shelby County commissioners will select an interim school board member next month, and interested candidates can apply as of Tuesday. The appointee will fill the seat Teresa Jones vacated following her recent appointment as a municipal court judge.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat January 29, 2019

  • Memphis parents submit 1,700 school applications online in first hour

    After decades of what critics called an unfair enrollment system that favored well-off families who could camp out for days to get priority admission, 1,700 parents applied online for Memphis schools during the first hour on Monday, Jan. 28.

    By Laura Faith Kebede January 28, 2019

  • Shelby County Schools’ interim superintendent says he won’t ‘sit behind a podium’

    Joris Ray intends to be involved in his interim role as Shelby County Schools superintendent.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat January 28, 2019

  • Gateway is only Memphis charter school flagged as low-achieving on district scorecard

    Most Memphis schools improved in academic achievement and student growth in the second edition of Shelby County Schools' “scorecard.”

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat January 24, 2019

  • District rehired former Memphis principal accused of planning to rig tests – then fired her six months later

    After quietly rehiring a former principal it had investigated for allegedly planning to rig state tests and for calling students the N-word, Shelby County Schools abruptly fired her last month, documents obtained by Chalkbeat show.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat January 03, 2019

• December 2018

  • Memphis and Nashville put on notice about which schools could face state takeover in 2020

    In one of her final acts as Tennessee education commissioner, Candice McQueen has identified nearly 20 schools that could require the most drastic state interventions — including possibly state takeover in 2020 — if their test scores don’t increase dramatically, according to documents obtained by Chalkbeat.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat Tennessee December 20, 2018

  • Even as suspensions fall, Memphis students being kicked out of school longer, data shows

    Hidden behind what Memphis education officials have said is good news when it comes to student discipline is a disturbing trend: As short-term suspensions have decreased, expulsions have increased.

    By Laura Faith Kebede December 17, 2018

  • Plan for Memphis schools would fold 28 old schools into 10 new ones

    Shelby County Schools’ outgoing leader wants to consolidate 28 Memphis schools into 10 new buildings.

    By Laura Faith Kebede December 12, 2018

• November 2018

  • Students walk out of Memphis school demanding to know why principal and teacher were fired

    About 30 students walked out of Memphis Academy of Health Sciences High School on Tuesday, Nov. 6, three months after school administrators fired the principal, and days after firing a beloved teacher.

    By Laura Faith Kebede November 07, 2018

  • A Memphis principal was fired over flawed test scores. Should state law protect him too?

    Reginald Williams was set to retire as principal of a Memphis charter school at the end of the school year. Instead, he was fired just days into the new school year, shortly after state test results showed the school’s scores had plummeted.

    By Laura Faith Kebede November 07, 2018

• October 2018

  • Memphis teacher groups want annual pay raises and more say in how they teach their students

    Memphis teachers will soon have the opportunity to change compensation, work hours, health benefits, and how they teach if they vote to negotiate a new agreement with Shelby County Schools.

    By Laura Faith Kebede October 17, 2018

• September 2018

  • At least 5 Memphis schools now risk a state takeover

    While Memphis mostly received good news when the state listed its most underachieving schools last week, at least five Shelby County schools appear to be at risk of state takeover.

    By Laura Faith Kebede September 28, 2018

  • Memphis moves from problem child to poster child on Tennessee’s new school improvement list

    The city that has been the epicenter of Tennessee’s school improvement work since 2012 got encouraging news on Friday as fewer Memphis schools landed on the state’s newest list of troubled schools.

    By Marta W. Aldrich and Laura Faith Kebede September 22, 2018

  • Did Memphis school leaders just get a pass in the $159,000 grade-tampering probe?

    After evidence surfaced of improper grade changing at a Memphis school, Superintendent Dorsey Hopson vowed that the district would put policies in place to prevent such “criminal” actions from happening again, and said that those who violated existing policies would be fired.

    By Laura Faith Kebede, Chalkbeat Memphis September 16, 2018