Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter who writes about how public policy shapes Memphis. She is currently reporting from Frayser about education and housing. Please write her with your suggestions and story tips.
There are 228 articles by Laura Testino :
MSCS rejected requests for Kirby Middle and Hillcrest High to become district charter schools once their ASD terms end. The denials could carry consequences, under a new state law.
“You should look forward to going to school,” said Brent Mayo, a key executive of xAI in Memphis, in talking about the company’s plans to invest in upgrades at schools near its data centers.
During the deposition, Feagins also denied sexual harassment allegations that an attorney for the MSCS board said are part of a “formal complaint.”
The move is expected to restore $17 million in federal funds to Memphis-Shelby County Schools, which pays for school-based translators and helps educators hone their teaching strategies.
“It would be contrary to and would not serve the public’s interest, in anyway, to legally mandate” that Memphis-Shelby County Schools restore Marie Feagins as superintendent, the school board’s attorney argued in court documents.
Marie Feagins’ attorney argued the public termination meetings were just a “rubber stamp.” The school board’s attorney argued Feagins lacked evidence of direct knowledge of violations and instead relied on secondhand information.
Porter-Leath, a local early childhood education organization, appears to be taking over local management of a $30 million, federally funded preschool program known as Head Start.
Roderick Richmond is one third of the way through his interim superintendent contract, which expires in July 2026. MSCS board members haven’t discussed how long his role will last.
In the early 2000s, DeAndre Brown was convicted of bank fraud, and cannot own a gun. Now, he’s suing in federal court, claiming a violation of Second Amendment rights.
The Daily Memphian analyzed public records to determine what Memphis school district jobs were cut and which ones were created for this 2024-25 school year.
However, the termination proceedings will continue into the new year and be decided in the board’s business meeting at the end of January. Related content:
In hires announced late Thursday, July 10, Memphis-Shelby County Schools interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond restored some former administrators to senior roles and delivered new faces from FedEx and elsewhere.
Have Shelby County districts improved third grade reading scores under the new retention law? How do Memphis students compare to students across Tennessee? Answer these questions and more.
The Tennessee Department of Education issued results from its state exams Tuesday, July 8. “Growth is not optional; it’s our mandate,” MSCS Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said in a statement.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools may lose federal funds used to pay for translators and district-level staff who help educators in what a former MSCS board member calls a “lose-lose” situation.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools had abruptly lost access to leftover pandemic-era federal funding in March.
Ousted Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins told a local court she “was publicly humiliated for following the law” in new documents requesting a judge overturn the school board’s vote to fire her.
MSCS board members are poised to finalize four property sales in June, one each in northeast Shelby County, Parkway Village, South Memphis and Whitehaven.
Federal officials say they are negotiating with finalists who want to operate Head Start preschool programming, which funds 3,200 seats, for students from low-income families in Shelby County.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools received another violation notice from Head Start monitors after a child walked away from the classroom.
Tennessee legislative leaders alleged that Memphis-Shelby County Schools was illegally destroying records ahead of a state-funded forensic audit, but MSCS officials “are unaware of any such alleged acts.”
How many schools should MSCS operate in order to best serve its students and families, and where should those buildings be located?
Expected staff changes at Memphis-Shelby County Schools, including some reassignments, are not part of the budget and are expected to take place in coming months.
Tennessee officials expect to choose a firm to perform the audit by the end of the month. But many details of the audit’s scope may remain secret.
The claims offer the 18-month, $487,500 payout described in Feagins’ contract as an alternative outcome to returning her to the school district’s superintendent seat.