98 articles by Laura Faith Kebede :
Shelby County Schools board members heard arguments from district staff and from Memphis Business Academy Middle, Memphis College Preparatory Elementary and Veritas College Preparatory ahead of a Jan. 28 vote to renew their 10-year contracts.
Student enrollment at the district’s 57 charter schools is up nearly 14%, to about 18,250 students. That means the share of Shelby County Schools students attending a charter school rose to 16%.
District staff recommended against re-upping operating agreements for Veritas College Preparatory, Memphis College Preparatory Elementary and Memphis Business Academy Middle.
Across Shelby County Schools district, 600 more students in kindergarten through second grade are starting in the district’s gifted education program, known as CLUE, which stands for Creative Learning in a Unique Environment. Another 600 older students are waiting for additional state testing to see if they qualify.
Eve Carney, the state’s chief districts and schools officer, said the state would consider more than just test scores and academic growth when placing schools on three "tiers," or levels of intervention. “Just to be frank, we will be in your schools, we will be in your business,” Carney said.
The new charter school policy the school board approved over the summer was the first update in eight years and significantly increased accountability.
Based on 1969 news reports, almost 67,000 students did not attend school at the height of the protest as black leaders advocated for seats on the all-white school board.
Teli White was suspended three years ago for his part in a grade-changing scandal after a district investigation, but was fired a year later for the same offense following an investigation by independent law firms.
The proposal would raise teachers' starting salary to $45,000. Those with master’s degrees ultimately could make a salary as high as $74,000, and teachers with doctorates almost $84,000.
Corey Johnson was placed on suspension with pay last month and fired on Dec. 3, according to Ricky Wilkins, the charter school network’s lawyer.
The schools had enrolled more students than their contracts with the district allowed.
Superintendent Joris Ray believes Shelby County Schools will be able to more effectively control the behavior of officers if they report directly to the district.
The Shelby County Schools board included the request to state lawmakers to hold off on charter approvals until the state evaluates how they are doing.
About 20,000 students in the Memphis district come from households where English is not the language spoken at home, or about one in five students. Most of those students come from Spanish-speaking homes.
The city recently received a federal grant to remove lead paint from 120 homes where low-income families live with young children. City officials consider any home built before 1978 to be at risk for lead paint because paint could deteriorate over time.
Eight schools could be forced to accept fewer students next year or un-enroll some students if the Shelby County Schools board follows staff recommendations presented this week.
This week, when temperatures in Memphis dipped to an unseasonably chilly 20 degrees, some classrooms at Kingsbury High had no heat. The problem was partially caused by a gas leak that led to an early dismissal Tuesday, but a student says cold classrooms are common.
With high lead levels found in water sources at 24 schools so far, Shelby County Schools officials said Thursday they are waiting on test results from samples at 30 more schools and expect more information on Monday.
Most of the 18 sources of lead were drinking fountains, but some were kitchen sinks and coolers, according to a report submitted by Shelby County Schools to the Tennessee Department of Health last week.
Third-grade retention has now come to Memphis through a Shelby County Schools policy that will take effect during the 2021-22 school year.
The retention policy takes effect during the 2021-22 school year. This year’s kindergarten students will be the first class of second graders impacted by the new policy, which could hold back students with lagging literacy skills.
Some Shelby County Schools board members initially rejected the remote teaching idea in a committee meeting, but support mounted last week as district leaders explained the dire teacher vacancy situation.
The most significant jump in student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, was in eighth-grade math where the average score increased by about eight points.
Superintendent Joris Ray named four to top leadership posts for Shelby County Schools, leaving open the chief of schools position vacated by Sharon Griffin in 2018 when she became head of the state-run Achievement School District.
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