There are 136 article(s) tagged Shelby County Schools:
Joris Ray, Shelby County Schools superintendent, says he wants to change the school district's approach to educating black male students, in order to "change the face of SCS and change the face of Shelby County and Memphis."
Lin Johnson is leaving after a four-year tenure with Shelby County Schools as deputy director for finance, human resources and information technologies. He hopes his legacy reaches beyond the numbers.
The old middle-school standards had varying guidelines on addressing the six world religions taught in world history courses — Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Shintoism. Now, teaching of the six creeds follows the exact same formula: origins, key people, sacred texts and basic beliefs.
Freedom Preparatory Academy, a 10-year-old charter network, will move its Westwood neighborhood elementary school to Shelby County Schools oversight — rolling back the 2014 state takeover of the school.
Shelby County School's $1.4 billion budget was approved Thursday by the County Commission. The district had asked for a $7.5 million funding increase, but the commission did not increase its maintenance of effort funding to the schools.
Of the 10 cabinet members who remain from the previous administration, six received raises since the beginning of the calendar year — increases ranging from about 4% to 31%, according to district data. The other four did not receive raises.
“The state has pretty clear criteria for what an academic plan should look like, what an operational plan should look like and what a financial plan should look like. None of those schools really met that criteria,” said Bradley Leon, Shelby County Schools chief of strategy and performance management.
Ray was interim superintendent for about three months before the school board abandoned a national search and unanimously voted to give him the permanent position in late April.
After nearly a full workday of discussions and calculations, the Shelby County Commission on Monday approved a $1.3 billion budget ahead of the start of the 2020 fiscal year on July 1.
The pre-K funding will come from the county’s reserves and are expected to be replenished once a court case has been resolved, said commission chairman Van Turner, who did not say what case he was referencing.
Inside the homey classrooms at Libertas, there are no desks lined up in neat rows. Instead, students and teachers sit at scattered chairs and tables — or on the floor if they prefer.
DeAnna McClendon oversaw the expansion of preschool classrooms as Shelby County seeks to make early childhood education available to all low-income families.
Currently, just over 50% of children are ready when they enter kindergarten and only about a quarter of third-graders in Shelby County Schools are reading on grade level. That means half of Shelby County students are already behind before they even get started.
Parents and teachers at Winchester Elementary were largely critical of the Memphis Teacher Residency partnership — saying the teachers would be less experienced, the model hasn’t been tested, and the school had recently undergone a lot of leadership changes.
A total of 321 Shelby County Schools students will be rewarded for their perfect attendance this weekend with bicycles and helmets.
County commissioners approved a recommendation to add $10 million more than Mayor Lee Harris’ budget for school building projects in all seven county districts. That still leaves Shelby County Schools short of the $64 million it requested by about 37%.
Local data from pre-K this year shows the effectiveness of high-quality early childhood programs. Eighty-five percent of the 7,800 children who attended finished the year "ready for kindergarten," and more likely to read on grade level in third grade.
Sharon Griffin’s resignation as chief of the Achievement School District reflects growing tension between the state and Griffin on how to improve the turnaround district.
As Memphis responds to Brandon Webber's death, some have wondered what else could have been done while he was in school to prevent it.
Pastors and others in Frayser reacted Thursday to Wednesday night's unrest and how it affects the Frayser community.
University officials said the location change would not disqualify some currently enrolled University Middle students from attending this fall, which was a concern because the school's contract requires one third of its students to reside within two miles of the school.
Shelby County Schools students spoke candidly this week on what they want and need from teachers.
The County Commission's budget committee discussed potential next steps in the budget process when it reconvened Wednesday morning.
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray says the district needs to listen more before deciding whether to implement his predecessor's plan to consolidate 28 schools into 10 new ones.
Now that Gateway is officially closed, parents and students are left to find a new high school. Many are headed to their zoned neighborhood schools; others are still searching.
Shelby County Schools is asking for an additional $35 million in capital funding, and $7.5 million in additional operating costs to include support for a reading program and more English as a second language teachers.
The Shelby County Schools budget includes two major parts: the general operating fund that pays for day-to-day expenses, including teacher salaries and classroom initiatives, totaling $1.04 billion; and the remaining $360 million capital budget for new schools and building maintenance.
Childhood trauma is commonplace — 52% of adults in Shelby County have had at least one adverse childhood experience, which includes such problems as abuse, neglect, domestic violence or parental suicide. Yet Shelby County Schools often lack the resources to respond to it.
The district’s proposed budget for day-to-day expenses would be $1.05 billion, which is about 3% less than the current spending plan. The district budget is determined by student enrollment, and the county is required to pay the district at least as much as it did last year. Shelby County Schools wants $10 million more than what would be allocated for next year.
Efforts to secure resources for Shelby County Schools come in advance of an expected school board vote on a spending plan, which could occur as soon as next week. The budget is the first under the district’s new superintendent, Joris Ray.
The Achievement School District has dealt with a spin-off like this before with Memphis Scholars, which runs three schools in the state district. But this is the first time Shelby County Schools has dealt with a question like this.
The "SCS is 901" campaign marks 150 years of organized public education as the city celebrates the 200th anniversary of the founding of Memphis.
Mayor Lee Harris held a press conference Wednesday urging county leaders to find a way to raise the minimum wage of SCS cafeteria workers to $15 per hour.
PART 2: High-stakes testing has shifted the focus of kindergarten from what's developmentally appropriate to get kids ready for school, to what's academically required to prepare students for their first standardized achievement tests in third grade.
Special Report: Memphis' Reading Test PART 1: Meeting goals for third-grade reading proficiency in Tennessee is a daunting task unless dramatic improvements occur in Shelby County, where the hurdles are high and the challenges complex. And in Memphis, a city where nearly four in five children in public schools aren't reading on grade level, the undertaking is monumental.
PART 3: Billions of government and philanthropic dollars have funded new curricula and standardized tests, teacher evaluation systems, charter schools and takeover schools. But it hasn't made much of a dent in the third-grade reading gap or any other measures of student performance.
Coming Monday: A three-part series from The Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis explores the challenges and possible solutions to improving third-grade reading proficiency locally.
The board voted to keep open three out of six Memphis charter schools that appeared on the state’s list of lowest-performing schools, and voted to close the three other charter schools on the list, all run by former superintendent and current Memphis mayoral candidate Willie Herenton.
School board members cited Ray’s firm hand while serving as interim — effectively a tryout — in their unanimous selection of the 22-year Memphis educator.
The new superintendent will surely proclaim that under their leadership, our city will provide an equally excellent education for all its children. However, this person should also appreciate that in declaring such a goal, they will be trying to do something that has not previously been done.
A resolution approved by the nine-member school board said a national search for a superintendent was unnecessary and would cost the district time and resources. Ray’s selection marks a reversal for board members, who signaled early on they planned to conduct a national search.
Joris Ray's public campaign to go from interim to permanent superintendent was different, but the push to keep the school system's leadership local and from within the system has been a constant feature of choosing a superintendent.
As board members of Shelby County Schools consider making interim Superintendent Joris Ray permanent, here's a look at superintendents who have lead Memphis schools over the past half century and how their selections altered the process.
Here's a look at what we know about interim Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray as board members prepare to consider dropping its search for a new superintendent and giving Ray the job outright.
The Shelby County Schools board postponed discussion Tuesday of a resolution to suspend a national search for a superintendent and hire interim leader Joris Ray – setting members up to make a critical decision with minimal public discussion.
“People get sick of me saying it, but it’s easy to be mean to a concept; it’s hard to be mean to people,” says Jaclyn Suffel, manager of strategic communications and outreach for SCS.
An investigation into a sexual harassment complaint lodged against Joris Ray several months before he was named interim superintendent concluded there was “no evidence” of wrongdoing.
Shelby County Schools Interim Superintendent Joris Ray urged prospective teachers Thursday to keep their talents in Memphis and Shelby County.
New Shelby County Schools employees would be eligible for student loan assistance next summer instead of retiree medical benefits, under a district proposal.
Shelby County Schools board members and County Commissioners held a historic joint meeting Wednesday to discuss the district’s preliminary 2019-20 operating budget.
Shelby County commissioners will likely get an early preview of the Shelby County Schools budget Wednesday.
Many of the student recommendations were rooted in Project STAND, a federally funded program at Carver Academy for students transitioning back to school after juvenile detention. Currently, there are 66 students in the program.
Board members are expected to vote on suspending the search for a superintendent at their regular meeting later this month. If that resolution fails, the board recommended that the Iowa-based firm Ray & Associates conduct the search for about $44,000.
The interim superintendent of Shelby County Schools said on Behind The Headlines that a plan to consolidate and relocate some schools on a massive scale should also be accompanied by better school programs and more academic offerings to students.
The district’s new analysis on where charter schools are most needed was based on the number of students in various Memphis neighborhoods and the school seats available for them.
Fourth- and fifth-graders from several area schools got a look at college life Friday during "Visit Day" at the University of Memphis, sponsored by the university and Shelby County Schools.
Amid concerns over declining enrollment and aging campuses, the changes are the first step in former superintendent Dorsey Hopson’s facilities footprint plan that could consolidate 28 old facilities into 10 new ones.
School board members in Shelby County have consistently opposed using state funds for private school tuition, and the latest proposal, which expands eligible expenses to tutoring and online courses, is no different, they said.
Even though the Shelby County Schools board is about to hire a national search firm to look for a new superintendent, Joris Ray has not been shy about pushing through initiatives that he believes will improve academic performance in Memphis schools.
Shelby County Schools will honor five notable alumni for their contributions to the community at the 2019 Alumni Hall of Fame Gala Saturday.
Local law enforcement applauds Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to shore up school safety with $30 million in grant funding.
Vouchers would take money and support out of the public school system. Public education is a right, and if we give up on it, we abandon our responsibility to the future.
A proposed policy would require Shelby County Schools' 8,700 second-graders to meet eight of 12 points the district tracks to be promoted to third grade.
Gov. Bill Lee proposes putting $25 million into education savings accounts, a program that would affect low-income students in Shelby County Schools.
Shelby County Republican Party chairman Chris Tutor talks about the call and debate by some Republicans to do away with partisan county primaries and his vision of a “big tent” for the local party.
The board resolution made the case that free bus passes students would help reduce absences in a school district where most students live in poverty and are less likely to have access to a car or enough money for public transit.
The university aims for a third of students to be children of University of Memphis full-time faculty and staff, a third to live within two miles of the school, and a third to be from elsewhere in the district.
As the country looks back on the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, a year ago, local counselors report an increasing number of calls to a youth crisis/suicide hotline.
Rev. Althea Greene is the newest Shelby County Schools board member after the Shelby County Commission appointed her to fill the District 2 vacancy Monday night.
The Shelby County Commission is expected Monday to appoint a new member to the board of Shelby County Schools to serve until August 2020.
Under new guidelines being developed, Shelby County Schools board members would be able to systematically slow growth of Memphis charter schools.
The new University of Memphis Middle School would stretch the concept of learning for younger public school students, if the Shelby County Schools board approves the plan Tuesday.
The Shelby County Schools board position vacancy will be filled by the County Commission at its meeting Monday.
Ten people are seeking appointment to an interim seat on the Shelby County Schools board. The District 2 seat opened with the departure of Teresa Jones to take an appointment as municipal court judge.
This teacher learned a valuable lesson when his favorite student didn't stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Tennessee’s teacher training programs improved or maintained their scores on a report card released Friday, even as the number of would-be educators they graduated dipped for a third straight year.
Less than one month after Joris Ray was named interim leader of Shelby County Schools, he has added two cabinet-level positions and replaced the district’s chief of staff.
Leaders of a Memphis charter high school have requested that the state board of education overturn the local district’s vote to close the school.
The state Board of Education voted Friday to uphold the decision of Shelby County Schools to not renew the charter of City University Boys Preparatory. The school will close in May, following the end of this school year.
Interim Superintendent Joris Ray said Thursday that he would introduce a new organizational chart for Shelby County Schools staff to reference: students are at the top; Ray is at the bottom.
As school board members approved a contract Wednesday for Shelby County Schools’ Interim Superintendent Joris Ray, a vocal contingent of principals, teachers, parents, and students told them that Ray should stay on long-term.
A school board committee said it would vote to reject an education philanthropy’s offer to pay for the district’s superintendent search.
The state board of education is being told it should approve a recommendation to shut down a small Memphis charter middle school after 10 years of operation.
With eight new commissioners and a new mayor, Shelby County government is changing the way it approaches education moving forward.
A Memphis legislator interviews with numerous news organization about pending legislation requiring districts to adopt parental rules, potentially for dress codes.
Joris Ray intends to be involved in his interim role as Shelby County Schools superintendent.
Most Memphis schools improved in academic achievement and student growth in the second edition of Shelby County Schools' “scorecard.”
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris calls on the University of Memphis and Shelby County Schools to lead the way on higher minimum wages.
Rep. Antonio Parkinson of Memphis wants to require school districts to set codes of conduct for people who visit campuses to maintain a better standard of "decorum."
The incoming superintendent of Shelby County Schools prepares to take the helm with a transition that includes a further move by SCS into issues of equity.
Even mentors in the Peer Power program are better defining their futures, discovering their passion for helping younger students could turn into a career.
Almost four months after it closed because of a rat infestation, Kirby High School reopens Monday to students who spent most of their first semester spread across three other campuses. The school returns with some new features and technology it didn't have before.
The Shelby County Schools board is facing some important decisions as it mulls outgoing superintendent Dorsey Hopson's latest school consolidation plan and welcomes an interim leader.
Cedrick Gray will start his new role as director of education in January if the County Commission approves his appointment.
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