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 220 articles by Laura Testino :
Damon Curry Morris, a frequent critic of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, faces a misdemeanor charge for violating a restraining order brought by MSCS board member Stephanie Love, according to police and court records.
The district is dealing with teacher vacancies and laptop problems, but otherwise reports a “smooth” first day of school.
As Porter-Leath works to enroll thousands more prekindergarten students, early-childhood education organization First 8 Memphis is continuing efforts toward free, quality classrooms for kids.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools has offers to purchase Humes Middle School in North Memphis from public utility Memphis Light, Gas and Water and local dance studio New Ballet Ensemble and School.
“Something’s going to come out of this audit. And what we’re going to have to be able to talk about — and it’s not good, bad or indifferent — is how we strengthen our internal controls,” a top official told school board members.
The Daily Memphian’s chart includes scores for all public schools in Memphis and Shelby County, including charters and campuses in the suburbs.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools could install new security measures its staff say would prevent vandalism at its vacant buildings.
A new Memphis-Shelby County Schools committee met for the first time Wednesday, Aug. 13, to guide looming decisions on school closures and consolidations, plus plans for repurposing facilities and building new ones.
Results from the audit could chart a path for state legislation to take over Memphis-Shelby County Schools. New documents reveal what firm is doing the audit and what they may be looking for.
A Shelby County Circuit Court judge declined to reinstate Marie Feagins to her former position as superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
With the launch of a second elementary school campus in Sherwood Forest this week, University of Memphis’ new K-12 district began its first expansion effort outside the college’s campus. Even more could be on the horizon.
Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Republicans, propose the next steps for their bills that would give the state more power over Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
MSCS board members start another academic year with a temporary district leader, as state takeovers loom, school closures are expected, and new policies could take hold.
This first day of school, Memphis-Shelby County Schools third grader Willie Perry felt “nervous and excited at the same time.” Adults interested in the school system have reasons to feel the same about the new academic year.
In Memphis, significant portions of the teacher population are either new to the profession or nearing retirement eligibility.
According to interim superintendent Roderick Richmond, carving up Memphis-Shelby County Schools prioritizes “localized decision-making.”
The four schools in Southwest Memphis that xAI has proposed supporting have some of the greatest deferred maintenance needs in the district.
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.