A short-handed Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education chose an unexpected path in the public charter school approval process Tuesday night. With several members absent, the board voted to support a proposed public charter school that failed to pass multiple reviews while denying others the district itself rated higher.

Shelby County Commissioners chose non-profit leader Mauricio Calvo to fill a vacant spot on the Memphis-Shelby County School Board.District 5 has been without representation since former Board Vice Chair Sheleah Harris’ abrupt resignation last month.At Monday’s meeting, commissioners voted 7 to 4 to confirm Calvo to serve as interim board member until the end of Harris’ term in September 2024. Calvo beat out three other candidates for the appointment.

Shelby County Commissioners chose non-profit leader Mauricio Calvo to fill a vacant spot on the Memphis-Shelby County School Board.District 5 has been without representation since former Board Vice Chair Sheleah Harris’ abrupt resignation last month.At Monday’s meeting, commissioners voted 7 to 4 to confirm Calvo to serve as interim board member until the end of Harris’ term in September 2024. Calvo beat out three other candidates for the appointment.

The approval process for proposed new public charter schools is about to begin its second round for school districts across the state.Four school boards will be voting on amended applications this month from nine public charter schools that were all denied in the spring.

The Knox County Schools board of education approved a policy to allow students to leave school for an hour to earn elective credits for religious courses.The 7-1 decision came with some reservations from board members, including Reverend John Butler. The District 1 board member raised numerous concerns about the vagueness of the policy.

Hamilton County Schools announced Dr. Martha McMillan and Alisan Taylor will take over as the new principals for East Ridge Elementary School and Thrasher Elementary School.

Four proposed public charter schools may face a tougher road to finding approval in Memphis.The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) charter review team is recommending school board members deny applications from every proposed public charter school this year, including Pathways in Education, CHANGE Academy, Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, and the Tennessee Career Academy.

A “deep dive” review of student support services by Knox County Schools (KCS) found challenges providing resources to special education students and English language learners.That review of the district’s Student Success Division found many parents of these students were unsure where to find resources and a general need for improved communication with families.

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has launched a “Back to School” webpage to help families prepare for the new school year that begins August 8.“The morning rings August 8, welcoming students, teachers, and staff in schools across the district - ushering in a traditional and exciting start of a new academic year. We are so glad we'll be back together,” wrote MNPS.In addition to having information to help get families and students ready for back-to-school season, the page provides information and resources for enrolling students, COVID protocols, and transportation.

Interim superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams is no longer a contender to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) on a permanent basis.At Tuesday evening’s school board meeting members approved a contract for Williams to continue serving as interim superintendent through August 29, with the key stipulation that she devote full-time attention to her duties of interim superintendent and not seek the position permanently.

Special needs students in Rutherford County may get to live out their dreams of becoming superheroes in the near future.At Thursday’s Rutherford County School Board meeting, The Every Kid Is A Hero Foundation presented board members with a proposal to give special needs students in the district a chance to become heroes in a comic.“What we have done, we’ve become a foundation called The Every Kid Is A Hero Foundation,” said foundation representative Lee Colvin. “Within this county’s school system, what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to come in and we’re trying to work with the special needs high school programs.”

Members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education plan to consider using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding approved for COVID expenses, to address an inequality in pay raises for teachers.Last week Metro Council approved a 6 percent cost of living (COLA) raise for Metro employees but the budget only included a 4 percent COLA for school district employees.

Shelby County Commissioners voted in favor of building two new high schools and providing a substantial raise to teachers Monday night.Both are key educational priorities in the county’s 2023/2024 budget that could receive final approval Wednesday morning.The capital spending plan approved by commissioners includes $65 million for building improvements and the construction of high schools in Frayser and Cordova. The backing from commissioners follows last month’s event in Frayser where students held a press conference to rally support for the new school.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Tennessee’s largest district, received almost $776 million in federal relief funds to help students recover from the pandemic — more than any other school system in the state.But anyone interested in learning how the district spent that hefty sum might be left scratching their heads.

The path that Pathways in Education (PIE) takes its name from began decades ago with the challenges organization founder John Hall faced when he was in school.Hall has a learning disability and couldn’t read until the age of 13. 

Kalen Sy learned the value of education at an early age.His grandmother and mother repeatedly stressed the importance of education, and it charted a path forward.“I was like, 'I'm gonna go to college, I'm (going to) successfully complete college, get something and obtain something out of it other than just a piece of paper and a handshake.' I wanted to get something out of it. So, yes, my mom, single parent mom, she really wanted my brother and (me) to just be something great. She always wanted us to value education and soak up education and anything that we were doing in a public school. Because like my grandma always told me, she said, after high school you have to pay for every little thing, even a pencil is not free,” said Sy.

Metro Council approved a 6 percent cost of living increase for Metro Nashville employees Tuesday night, but teachers won’t be receiving the same amount. The council’s $3 billion substitute budget only included the 4 percent cost of living raise for Metro Nashville Public School employees that Mayor John Cooper proposed last month.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools paid a lawn care vendor more than its contract allowed, lost some lawn equipment to theft, and paid an employee for days they didn’t work.The lapses surfaced in a regular independent financial audit of the district for the 2021-22 school year and were detailed in a report shared with state officials in January.

Members of the Williamson County Schools Board of Education voted 8 to 2 to keep five challenged books on the shelves Monday night.Those books include Speak, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Field Guide to the North American Teenager, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The books contain a common theme of the main characters being outcasts based on their own personal experiences and earlier this year, a district committee recommended against removing them from Williamson County School libraries.“A book that, in my opinion, makes a teenager kind of dive into and recognize that everybody is different and people at based upon their own personal experiences is a valuable piece of literature that’s a whole lot deeper than just the subtext or the specific sexual content, or bullying content, or drug content that’s being called out here,” said board member Eliot Mitchell.