As school shootings continue to occur in America, local colleges and universities are investing in equipment, training and counseling services to take every measure against a shooting on their campuses.  

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.

Small, private school for students with certain learning disabilities is proving to be the perfect fit for some Memphis families.

The state education department must administer the education savings accounts, establish a fraud-reporting system, and suspend or terminate schools that don’t comply with rules. It must produce an annual report on the number of students participating, the results of a parent survey, overall student performance and “graduation outcomes.”

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.

Next school year, all of TNReady will be completed on paper to give the state’s next testing company time to ramp up for an online assessment for older students beginning in 2021. That change was ordered by the legislature this spring at the urging of Gov. Bill Lee.

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.

University of Memphis President M. David Rudd is testifying before a U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor subcommittee about initiatives that have improved the university's graduation rates. 

When asked for her opinion on the provision that could affect immigrant or undocumented students, DeVos said: “I think that’s been a matter for Tennessee to debate. I can’t comment on a hypothetical."

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.

The grant funding is crucial, the charter leaders say, because hiring additional counselors or creating smaller classrooms for students with disabilities can cost schools more.

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.

With the retirement of two longtime elementary school principals, Bartlett City Schools selects their replacements from two other suburban districts.

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. 

Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools – targeted by Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings accounts bill – are threatening a lawsuit against the state, contending the legislation is unconstitutional.

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.

Nearly half of the 35 longtime providers from around the state lost their state contracts in the latest award period in the Tennessee Early Intervention System, which provides educational services for children under the age of 3 with disabilities or developmental delays.

New Christian Brothers University president Jack Shannon Jr. plans to continue the initiatives of his predecessor and work to create even more partnerships to build the community through education and opportunity.   

For her chief of staff, Schwinn has picked Rebecca Shah, who worked at the Texas Education Agency where Schwinn served as deputy commissioner of academics before Gov. Bill Lee hired her as Tennessee education chief.