A look at some key dates in a 12-year period that has seen historic changes in the structure of public education in Memphis.

Cummings K-8 is closed following a ceiling collapse Monday, Aug. 15, inside its library.

Angela Griffith has decided to seek another four-year term.

A new state law is raising the pressure on local public and charter schools. Third graders who “flunk” next spring’s TNReady reading test — and generally two-thirds of them in Tennessee do — are eligible to be retained in third grade next year. 

Even as Tennessee moves forward with a law that could hold back tens of thousands of third graders, there is widespread misunderstanding about what it even means to read at “grade level.”

Many third-grade students who fail their reading tests have learning disabilities, but Tennessee’s new retention law fails to address that reality, putting thousands of kids at risk of being held back.

Tennessee joins 36 states with laws that can result in underperforming elementary students being held back, but the results in other states have been mixed.

Critics worry Tennessee’s new retention policy fails to address most of the reasons children struggle to read, leaving tens of thousands of third graders at risk of being held back this year.

Suburban superintendents are concerned about the high stakes attached to the TCAP test and if it’s an accurate measure of whether students are reading proficiently.

Three faculty members were transported to the hospital, but no students were injured. The school closed for the day and children were taken to Metropolitan Baptist Church.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools has been named a Level 5 district under the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, a tool that helps measure student academic growth over time.

A Southwind High School student was allegedly involved in an altercation with several school resource officers for not wearing the proper shoes to school.

New principals in the northeastern municipal districts open the school year with hope, promise and new direction.

“This was not easy for me to run against Mr. Lamar because he has done so much good for our community,” Jonathan Dunn said of defeating Hugh Lamar for the Arlington Community Schools Position 3 board seat.

Today is the first day of the new school year for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and the district still has 180 vacant teacher positions. 

Alissa Fowler, a local Realtor, is challenging Wanda Chism, who has served on the Collierville Schools board of education since the district’s inception.

As part of the celebration and back-to-school prep, the district also partnered with the Shelby County Health Department to provide students in need with free immunizations.

“We train all our staff in battlefield first aid,” said one local school superintendent. “We watch some really gory videos so they can be prepared.”

The back-to-school initiative takes place in multiple cities across the country and has been an annual tradition of the organizations for over a decade.

Since an injunction was lifted last month, the state has been working to make taxpayer-funded private school vouchers available by the time class starts — which in Shelby County is Monday, Aug. 8.

New members will soon participate in a swearing-in ceremony to officially become part of the board. The board’s next meeting will be a work session Aug. 23. It will hold its monthly business meeting the following week on Aug. 30.

The idea of a three-term limit for city council members and the Memphis mayor went down hard for the second time in four years. 

A new event aims to showcase collaboration over competition.