Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn named Amity Schuyler voucher project manager. “She believes in education savings accounts. And to take the lead on this project, I need someone who believes in it,” Schwinn said.

The push is alarming voucher opponents, who worry that an accelerated rollout will be more prone to fraud in how the accounts, which will be loaded with an average of $7,300 a year, are used.

Katherine Causey, chair of LeMoyne-Owen’s Division of Business and Economic Development, said the college’s business programs are the largest and most popular majors at the college. 

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.

The federal guidance removes the final hurdle for Compass Community Schools to open its six campuses across Memphis on July 31 in former Catholic school buildings.

Read to be Ready camps first opened in 2016, and Tennessee has expanded the program annually with funding from the U.S. Department of Human Services. But state officials learned in January that the federal grant now has to be used for child care programs.

British-based Pearson took over the student testing program July 1. The contract runs through June 30, 2021, and the state has the option to renew terms annually for up to three years through 2024. The five-year cost would be $93.1 million.

School districts will have to follow (or be aware of) many new laws that didn’t grab headlines. Here are 10 such measures that become effective with the new fiscal year.

Jamiyah Brown, an 11-year-old rising sixth-grader and rugby team captain at Believe Memphis Academy, will deliver the game ball when the U.S. takes on France in a Rugby World Cup match Oct. 2 in Japan. 

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.

“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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

University of Memphis Recreational Center staff taught five swim classes as a part of The World's Largest Swimming Lesson, an annual water safety initiative.

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%.

Sharon Griffin was the fourth ASD leader in seven years. Katie Poulos, the state’s new chief of schools overseeing turnaround efforts, said there will be a national search for a permanent replacement.

Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt spoke at the University of Memphis  Wednesday afternoon about the research behind her book, “Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do.”

LeMoyne-Owen College's board of trustees has voted to release Andrea Lewis Miller as president at the close of her contract Sept. 1.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, which launched in 2009 to advocate for policies intended to boost student achievement, will combine forces with Complete Tennessee, which formed in 2016 to try to help more students finish college or other educational training after high school.

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.