For 35 low-performing Memphis schools, Tennessee has new rules about academic improvement
A Daily Memphian analysis shows that 25 MSCS schools have repeatedly appeared on priority lists. Another eight charter schools in Shelby County received a priority designation. (Geoff Stellfox/AP file)
Tennessee officials have identified 35 Memphis-Shelby County Schools district campuses as having among the lowest academic outcomes in the state. Roughly 100 schools are on the state’s list, which was approved Friday, Nov. 21 by the Tennessee State Board of Education.
The “priority school” label comes with new consequences this year meant to improve students’ academic outcomes. Schools making a new appearance on the list are required to implement a specific kind of improvement plan that the state must approve. Priority lists are typically released every three years.
But repeat appearances could lead to intense state-mandated interventions for a school, including converting it to a charter school, firing and rehiring all staff, or closure.
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Tennessee Department of Education Memphis-Shelby County Schools Lizzette Reynolds priority schools Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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