Five people who were banned from Memphis-Shelby County Schools buildings and property have filed a federal lawsuit against the district, claiming officials violated their constitutional right to access public meetings.The people banned are activists in Memphis who have called on the school board to increase transparency and integrity in its search for a new superintendent.

Representative Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) joined four members of the so-called “School Board Five” in a protest Friday outside the Memphis-Shelby County School Board retreat.Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) banned the five community activists last month following disruptions during a decision to put the district superintendent search on hold.That decision has since faced pushback from the Memphis community, including members of the activists’ families and friends. The “School Board Five” includes local activists Amer Sherman, LJ Abraham and Damon Morris, former teacher’s union president Tikelia Rucker, and former school board candidate Rachel Spriggs.Multiple board members have since expressed a desire to meet with the activists and lift the ban and Board Chair Althea Greene thanked Representative Pearson for helping move that process forward.

About 1 in 5 Memphis Shelby-County Schools third graders who took a state retest in reading last month succeeded in earning an easier path to fourth grade — some 1,200 students in all.

Parent advocacy group Memphis Lift broke ground on a new facility last week designed to not only serve more parents but also provide them with more assistance.“I got your back!” said Memphis Lift members as they celebrated.The new facility will be named the Brenda Rogers Resource Center, after a longtime community advocate and mentor to Memphis Lift Executive Director Sarah Carpenter. It will provide resources such as a food pantry, computer lab, uniform closet, and area for educational programs.

With only a few days left in third grade, LaQuencher Sanders’ 8-year-old daughter, Kamryn, just wanted to be done with school.She had been in the class of kindergartners who were sent home in March 2020 because of COVID.

Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board admit they don’t expect to be able to name a permanent superintendent by the start of the 2023/2024 school year.“We, unfortunately, will not have a superintendent by the first day of school,” said board member Joyce Coleman.Coleman’s comments came during Thursday night’s board retreat lead by former two-term board member and education advocate Tomeka Hart Wigginton. Members are utilizing the retreat to continue reevaluating the superintendent search and decide on the qualities and priorities each board member wants.Board members discussed multiple priorities including a focus on the budget, sustainability, literacy, and parental support. The superintendent qualities members discussed prioritizing included political savvy, community advocacy, financial knowledge, and the ability to be a collaborator.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is facing pushback for banning five public commenters from all district property.The district made the decision to ban former teacher’s union president Tikelia Rucker, former school board candidate Rachel Spriggs, and local activists Amber Sherman, LJ Abraham, and Damon Morris following disruptions at the special meeting held May 9 when the board announced that the superintendent search will be put on hold.

Administrators with Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) say parents should learn today if their third-graders need to attend summer school and/or tutoring in the fall.The district announced that it plans to send an email to parents of children who took the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) English language arts retest last week that explains whether the child scored proficient and what options are available if they didn’t meet that threshold.

Students from the North Memphis Frayser community came together Friday morning to advocate for funding to combine the area’s two high schools into one new school.

The Tennessee Department of Education says four of five third-grade students in the Jackson-Madison County School System (JMCSS) failed to meet the testing threshold to advance to the fourth-grade. That’s the eighth lowest in the state and behind other large school districts including Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Early state test results show Memphis third graders improved in reading this year, and more students in the cohort are mastering state reading goals.But about three-quarters of third graders in Memphis-Shelby County Schools are still not meeting expectations, which means they could face more tests, tutoring, and summer school this year. Unless they hit certain marks along the way, they could be held back.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools wants to clean up the way it cleans up its schools.Last year, the board approved a four-year, $34 million contract with ServiceMaster Clean to provide custodial services across the district. The cost was significantly higher than the previous year, when the work was split between two providers, but MSCS sought a wage increase to $15 an hour, which the district argued would help it hire and retain workers.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) superintendent search is officially on hold, much to the frustration of some residents in Memphis.MSCS school board members called a special meeting to discuss the budget on Tuesday and towards the end of the meeting, the board announced that it will be pausing the superintendent search..

More than four months ago Dogwood Elementary 5th grade teacher Alexa Guynes cried tears of joy when her school surprised her with the news she’d won the prestigious 2022 Milken Educator Award.Now she has her $25,000 prize.

The recent passage of a teacher pay raise by the Tennessee General Assembly hasn’t quelled calls to improve the compensation for Memphis educators.Multiple teachers and social workers appeared at last week’s Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education meeting to demand better compensation and higher salaries for their work.

Fairley High School students and alumni told the Memphis-Shelby County School Board they want the school to remain open as a public charter school.Fairley is among five public charter schools that have applied to transition out of the state’s Achievement School District (ASD) and into Memphis-Shelby County Schools. School Board members denied all five during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

School board members with Memphis-Shelby County Schools denied all five applications for new public charter schools with one vote Tuesday.The board opted to follow the recommendation of the district review committee and vote down applications by Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls, Pathways in Education, the CHANGE Academy and the Tennessee Career Academy.