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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

The University of Memphis is carving out career pathways by creating on-campus job opportunities with major employers such as FedEx Corp., and is looking for more private-industry partnerships. 

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.

Shelby County Schools Interim Superintendent Joris Ray urged prospective teachers Thursday to keep their talents in Memphis and Shelby County.

New Shelby County Schools employees would be eligible for student loan assistance next summer instead of retiree medical benefits, under a district proposal.

A senior official in Tennessee’s Achievement School District was ousted Thursday morning – the first major shakeup the district has seen under leader Sharon Griffin.

Shelby County Schools board members and County Commissioners held a historic joint meeting Wednesday to discuss the district’s preliminary 2019-20 operating budget.