There are 166 articles by Laura Faith Kebede :
The tension between the Memphis leader and state officials illustrates the differences in how Tennesseans are responding to school safety concerns related to the virus.
District officials said they expect money they will get from the latest federal relief package could be about four times higher than last time, or about $190 million.
Nineteen KIPP Memphis Academy Middle staff members sent a letter to the board of directors asking them to remove Kendra Ferguson, who has led the charter network of five schools since 2016 and reports to the board.
If it passes, Tennessee’s two largest school systems would have to reopen quickly to meet that threshold.
Superintendent Joris Ray posted a video Friday, Jan. 22 urging state legislators to vote against a bill that could “defund public education” if Shelby County Schools remain closed.
Memphis students are struggling with material taught during virtual learning, a top Shelby County Schools official said, pointing to test results.
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray has stood firm with all-remote learning, and accuses state leaders of being out of touch with the needs of Memphis students, who are mostly Black and disproportionately affected by the deadly virus.
Superintendent Joris Ray presented updates for reopening during a board committee meeting Thursday, including creating a district contact-tracing team and using district buildings to administer vaccines to teachers. But he has delayed reopening classes indefinitely, citing high community spread of COVID-19.
Charter schools run by nonprofit organizations are allowed to make their own plans about reopening buildings. That means about a quarter of Memphis students attend public schools that are not obligated to follow Superintendent Joris Ray’s decision to continue all-virtual learning.
Joris Ray said he still supports the proposal to spend $5.6 million next school year on Educational Epiphany’s teacher training and take-home literacy flashcards for Memphis students, but he pulled a vote on the contract from this week’s school board meeting agenda.
A half century later, family still fights for recognition to soften “a pain that will never go away.''
A 2018 law created the Tennessee Civil Rights Crimes, Information, Reconciliation, and Research Center, but provided no additional funding or staff.
Rep. Steve Cohen led the unveiling of a sign proclaiming the Odell Horton Federal Building. “Giant of a judge:” The life and legacy of Judge Odell HortonRelated story:
“The cases in our region that we plan to investigate as part of the Civil Wrongs project were often trivialized by journalists at the time. Reporters often took officials’ statements without question while disregarding Black voices that dared to complicate the story.”
The lynching of Ell Persons on May 22, 1917, shaped Memphis history. Now, 105 years later, the site has remained nearly unscathed, but what has changed?
The quick release of footage of the Tyre Nichols’ beating is an anomaly for MPD, which has not released video or other details in a series of officer-involved shootings since November.