The decision came as some Memphis-Shelby County School buildings are struggling with air-conditioning issues amid a summer of record high temperatures.

University of Memphis President Bill Hardgrave ran through the campus fountain hand-in-hand with SGA leaders on the first day of school amid a flurry of activity on the student plaza.

Cherry Davidson is returning to the Arlington Community Schools suburban district to act as mentor for principals across the system.

Dr. Christina Rosenthal, a native of South Memphis, continues to garner national attention for her dedication to inspiring young people from historically marginalized communities to pursue careers in health care. 

New Memphis hosted “Spillit: Baggage Claim,” an event honoring local teachers with its 2023 Educators of Excellence awards and providing them with an open forum to share their stories.

Horton Jr. will bring “a wealth of experience” to his new role, according to MSCS interim superintendent Toni Williams.

Half a century ago this month, 39,000 Memphis children — about a third of the then-Memphis City Schools system — were told to board school buses and continue their education at new schools in an effort to racially integrate them.

Related story: 

Chapter One: Before the buses

Court-ordered busing began in the Memphis City Schools system in 1973, 19 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racially segregated public schools should be integrated with “all deliberate speed.” But MCS had tried other methods at integration before busing.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools scored a Level 5 distinction on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System for the second consecutive year. 

Undergraduate enrollment at the University of Memphis, for example, had fallen about 11% between 2016 and last fall when it reported having 14,366 students.

From the College of Medicine to the College of Pharmacy to the College of Dentistry, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has new leaders in several key positions.

Emmanuel United Methodist Kindergarten has hired Maribeth Jeffreys as the school’s new director. Jeffreys has 10 years of experience teaching in the Collierville school system and is the youngest director in the school’s history. 

It was the largest and shortest public school district merger in United States history. A decade later, leaders on both sides recall the road that led to an unhappy “shotgun wedding.” 

Two Memphis educators are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the state over the 2021 “prohibited concepts” law.

Barely one week into his new role, Mauricio Calvo already has ideas regarding the superintendent search, charter schools and student literacy.

Hallie Ross is the first alum to serve as principal of Houston High School. Ross formerly served as the vice principal of Collierville High School.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education discussed plans to increase student achievement going into the new school year at a committee meeting Tuesday, Aug. 8.

Dr. Scott Strome was the face of much of UTHSC’s community outreach during the pandemic, including the large public testing site it created and staffed at Tiger Lane.

Teachers, students and faculty geared up for the first day of school Monday, Aug. 7, as more than 110,000 MSCS students headed back to class for the 2023-24 school year.

“We’re not responsible just to educate children but to help the total child. Part of that is making sure they have uniforms and school supplies,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools official Althea Greene said. “It’s part of making sure they’re ready on day one.”

To address the nationwide nursing shortage and increase diversity in the nursing profession, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing has doubled its number of partner schools in the region. 

Germantown Municipal School District employees welcomed the new academic year at Houston High Friday, Aug. 4, with prizes, pompoms and hits from The Beatles.

The DeSoto County school district plans on having resource officers at campuses across the system for the upcoming academic year.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools released an updated superintendent application Thursday, Aug. 3, as the board spends an additional $19,000 to continue the search.

More than 80 Memphis high school graduates were honored with a dinner reception at Memphis City Hall Wednesday night after being awarded scholarships from the Memphis City Council HBCU Scholarship Fund.