Education
Memphis Lift, Seeding Success join Tennessee’s legal defense of MSCS takeover
“The MSCS system is in crisis,” attorneys for Memphis Lift, Seeding Success and three family members of Memphis-Shelby County Schools students wrote.
Laura Testino
There are 377 articles by Laura Testino :
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September 2026
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Education
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August 2026
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Public Safety Tennessee National Guard members halt patrols Friday for ‘administrative work,’ Marshals Service says
The Tennessee National Guard remains deployed as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, according to Gov. Bill Lee’s office. Lee commands deployment of the state’s guard.
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Education TCAP results 2026: See how your Memphis-area school scored
Search The Daily Memphian’s chart to see how Memphis and Shelby County public schools scored, and whether they improved from last year.
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Education All MSCS campuses reopen for students Thursday
School is reopening to all Memphis-Shelby County Schools students as Memphis Light, Gas and Water approaches its target date for power restoration.
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Education 10 MSCS schools to remain closed Wednesday due to power outages
Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials said persistent power outages are forcing some schools to remain closed.
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Update
EducationMSCS keeps 19 campuses closed Tuesday due to lingering power outages
Families of students who attend the 19 closed schools can receive free meals on Tuesday. Food will be available at each closed campus between noon and 2 p.m., through a partnership with the YMCA.
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EducationExclusive: Legal fees mount in MSCS takeover lawsuit
Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ court challenge of the state’s takeover of the school system has cost at least $211,700 in legal fees, according to MSCS and Shelby County government officials.
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Education MSCS closes all campuses Monday due to storm-related power outages
All Memphis-Shelby County Schools campuses will close Monday, Aug. 24, due to a destructive weekend storm. Collierville Schools delayed start times Monday, but no other suburban school systems had changed schedules.
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2026 elections
ElectionsVoters elect four Democrats in first partisan MSCS board election
No Republicans ran for the Memphis school board seats on the ballot. Democratic nominees bested independent challengers in races for two open seats, while two incumbents on the board secured their victories in May’s primary races.
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EducationHow a team sports-based school wants to make ‘alternative’ education an ‘opportunity’ in Memphis
New York City-based Urban Dove, a charter school organization, won approval to open two campuses in Memphis. Tennessee’s new ‘opportunity’ charter schools seek to reshape what education can look like for students who have fallen behind because of attendance, academics or behavior.
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Education First day of school 2026: Major changes for 5,000 Memphis students
District leaders kicked off the school year with a four-campus tour Monday, Aug. 3, stopping at three schools among the roughly 5,000 students affected by summer closures, consolidations and a district return.
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MSCS school year begins with takeover still paused in court battle
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Education MSCS school year begins with takeover still paused in court battle
The takeover remains on a federal court-ordered pause issued after the board had met for about two weeks. Meanwhile, school closures, mergers and relocations mean big changes for about 5,000 Memphis students returning to class.
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July 2026
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EducationSpaceXAI offered major construction upgrades to Memphis schools. What happened?
Fairley High students and athletes have emerged as the early — and only — major beneficiaries of a list of construction projects Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company offered to the Memphis school system last July.
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Calkins: It’s time for SpaceXAI to live up to its promise to Memphis kids
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Public Safety Video released of fatal Task Force shooting at Burger King
Surveillance clips show the shooting that killed Darrin Pigram inside the Burger King where he worked. The release comes days after officials said there would be no charges filed against the officer.
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Education MSCS begins work on corrective actions after audit
More improvements are coming to internal controls, procurement, human resources and cybersecurity processes at Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Superintendent Roderick Richmond told board members.
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EducationIf Tennessee takeover succeeds, these are the ways MSCS may improve
MSCS qualifies for a takeover in part because of state test performance, low-performing schools and student attendance. But state appointees to an oversight board don’t have to improve all of those metrics for the takeover to end.
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Education Tennessee points federal judge to MSCS audit in a push to restart takeover
In federal court documents, the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General filed motions to dismiss the school district’s lawsuit and dissolve an earlier court order pausing the takeover.
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Education12 things to know from the state’s MSCS audit
A forensic audit report found evidence of fraud, waste and abuse at Tennessee’s largest school district. But the most significant claims aren’t news to MSCS, according to court records and additional audit reports detailing the district’s responses.
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Education Bulk of suspected abuse at MSCS tied to custodial contract, auditors find
That alleged abuse is largely associated with a single custodial contract that received elected board approval in 2022.
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EducationMSCS board approved $200M in contracts Tuesday. But will takeover appointees review them?
Even before a federal judge halted the state takeover of MSCS, it’s unclear whether the new oversight board had final-approval authority over any of the other contracts elected board members approved Tuesday. And the questions don’t stop there.
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Education Federal judge orders halt on MSCS takeover
A federal judge has ordered Tennessee to halt its takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. In the wake of that order, the state oversight board canceled its Wednesday afternoon meeting.
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Education MSCS forensic audit to include new TennCare review
Auditors reviewed three years of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ finances and its current internal controls, prompted by lawmakers’ request for an audit in 2025. A final report is expected July 8.
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EducationTCAP 2026: These 6 charts show how Memphis-area students stack up
Compare scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests by subject and student group for districts in Memphis and Shelby County.
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June 2026
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EducationTCAP scores 2026: See how MSCS students did on Tennessee tests
Third graders in the Memphis district shined in one subject area, while math scores stagnated for elementary and middle school students.
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Education MSCS sues takeover appointees as oversight board votes to hire attorney
Attorneys for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Shelby County government expanded their lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s takeover of the school district to include appointees to the new oversight board.
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