SpaceXAI offered major construction upgrades to Memphis schools. What happened?
An estimated $3.6 million donation from SpaceXAI will result in a renovated gym and locker room for Fairley High School. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
One year ago, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company promised expansive upgrades to four schools in Whitehaven and Westwood, the Memphis communities nearest its data centers.
That company, now SpaceXAI, is responsible for some improvements at the Memphis-Shelby County Schools campuses, but has struggled to translate its hallmark private-sector speed to the public school buildings.
So far, donations have improved two campuses rather than four, according to MSCS. Those projects — campus beautification efforts at John P. Freeman School and a major locker room renovation at Fairley High — have made a small dent in the large list of SpaceXAI’s offerings.
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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. Reach Laura with questions, story ideas or tips: Ltestino@dailymemphian.com or Ldtestino.54 on Signal.
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