Collierville Schools is looking to relocate its central office just west of its current building. 

Seven new Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers signed contracts today in advance of their graduation from the University of Memphis’ River City Partnership program, which specifically works to prepare students for positions within urban school districts.

“We feel confident, considering the significant interest that already exists inside and outside of Memphis, that strong candidates will continue to emerge.”

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board voted unanimously to purchase 35.79 acres in Cordova for $3.579 million.

Tito Langston, the district’s deputy CFO, talked about the timeline for the district’s next budget and recent financial investments. Three surveys were also offered, and community members presented questions and concerns.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools is considering the purchase of 35.79 acres in Cordova for a new high school.

Collierville Schools hired consultants to study the projected growth within the district. The study also reviewed whether current facilities will fit the expected needs.

The mayor and Board of Aldermen made its request last year and reiterated it again this month after DeSoto County Schools asked Olive Branch to approve putting classroom trailers at Career Tech East.

Max McGee, president of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, said the superintendent position at Memphis-Shelby County Schools has already attracted three candidates from three other states.

The library branch has been closed since MPD officer Geoffrey Redd was shot after responding to an altercation at the branch on Feb. 2. 

The inaugural cohort is composed of junior business students at the U of M.

Under the third-grade retention law, students who don’t score proficiently on the English Language Arts portion of their TCAP test are eligible to be held back unless they meet certain conditions.

The 2022 Collierville Balloon Festival distributed $150,000 to local education efforts. The event is scheduled to return and once again use its proceeds to benefit the same cause.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools has contended that allowing school security staff to use pepper spray against students to break up fights is generally safe, but some still don’t agree with the practice.

Board members discussed some details for a new high school, which comes as a result of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ agreement to relinquish ownership of the Germantown namesake schools. 

Project RESTORE, funded through a $422,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, aims to train students in nonviolent conflict resolution techniques.

Under the current version of the policy, school resource officers are permitted to use “physical, mechanical and chemical measures” only when it is “necessary to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of district students, employees and visitors.”

The municipal school district and Bartlett Police Department are working with the Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence (L.E.A.D.) program, a nationwide nonprofit focused on helping students understand the dangers of drugs and violence.

Collierville High School is expanding its offerings and students will learn to fly with a new wing.

One of the courses, African American Literature, will review literary contributions of African Americans from the early 1600s through the modern United States.

East High School audio-visual students have a new, fully functional studio space where they can get hands-on instruction in broadcasting.

The district’s board of education voted unanimously at its business meeting Tuesday night to hire Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates to conduct the search.

Related story:

‘It gives a lot of people pause:’ MSCS board responds to conflict of interest concern

MSCS board members sound off on Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s opinion suggesting Keith Williams may have a conflict of interest serving both on the district board and as head of one of its two teacher unions. 

Student musicians backed the legendary singer at the grand opening gala for the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at the University of Memphis.

Keith Williams, who represents District 6, also serves as executive director of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, the oldest of the district’s two teacher unions.