Memphis and Shelby County voted to expand pre-K last year. Will classrooms close instead?
Pre-k students (in a 2019 file photo) read together in front of Alice Holman's class at Porter-Leath's Douglass Head Start School. (The Daily Memphian file)
Last spring, early childhood organization First 8 Memphis gave local educators and families with young children a reason for celebration: Their students could access free prekindergarten, regardless of their family’s income, through ordinances passed by the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission.
By the end of the year, First 8 found itself in a different predicament.
Instead of expanding pre-K access, First 8’s pre-K operators may be forced to close. It still hasn’t received the local money to pay them.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
First 8 Memphis Memphis-Shelby County Schools Porter-Leath Head start Subscriber Only prekindergartenThank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization with a hybrid business model, we rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and miscellaneous earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).
Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today.
👉 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.
👉 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.
We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.
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.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.