Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Achievement School District

round one

Tennessee
June 14, 2018

All Memphis charter school applicants sent back to drawing board if they want to open in 2019

If the school board agrees, applicants have 30 days to revise and resubmit. The board will vote on the amended applications August 21.

First Person

Tennessee
June 8, 2018

If teachers aren’t equipped to help trauma victims, students suffer. Learn from my story.

I thought that if I could find a different way to ask him to get back on task, maybe he would not become so aggressive.

New direction

Tennessee
June 1, 2018

Here’s what Sharon Griffin wants to do in her first month as Tennessee’s new turnaround leader

Sharon Griffin, a longtime Memphian, said she wants to quickly launch an advisory team of local parents, students, and faith leaders for the Achievement School District.

‘It feels like losing a family’

Tennessee
May 24, 2018

This Memphis poetry team is the best in the state. But they will scatter as their school closes.

A student poetry team at GRAD Academy Memphis was named the best high school poetry team in Tennessee this month. But they will scatter to different schools after GRAD closes.

How I Lead

Tennessee
May 18, 2018

This Memphis principal says supporting teachers and parents helped pull her school out of the bottom 10 percent

This year, Georgian Hills Achievement Elementary left not only left the bottom 5 percent of Tennessee schools but moved out of the bottom 10 percent

meet the fellows

Tennessee
May 17, 2018

Meet the 38 teachers chosen by SCORE to champion education around Tennessee

Six teachers from Memphis have been awarded fellowships that will allow them to spend the next year supporting better education in Tennessee. The year-long fellowships,…

Movers and shakers

Tennessee
May 10, 2018

Academic leader of Tennessee’s achievement schools finalist for Massachusetts district’s top job

Verna Ruffin was named one of two finalists to lead Lawrence, Ma. schools.

passing the mantle

Tennessee
April 25, 2018

With Sharon Griffin’s departure, Shelby County Schools has big (stiletto) shoes to fill

She just unveiled an academic plan for the district, but education onlookers say she has built a team that can see it through.

NEW MOMENT

Tennessee
April 25, 2018

Tennessee’s struggling state-run district just hired the ‘LeBron James’ of school turnaround work

Sharon Griffin’s new job is to better the state’s Achievement School District and use her experience to strengthen the relationships with local districts across the state.

Superintendent search

Tennessee
April 24, 2018

‘I can’t wait to get started,’ says Sharon Griffin on leading Tennessee’s Achievement School District

Sharon Griffin, a longtime leader at Shelby County Schools, will be the next leader of the state’s turnaround district.

By the numbers

Tennessee
March 29, 2018

Memphis school segregation worse than 50 years ago

And without a re-entry of white families into the city’s school system and massive policy changes, the segregation will only worsen, say academics.

school cloning

National
March 28, 2018

Can top charters truly ‘replicate’? In Boston, yes — elsewhere, it’s not so clear

A new study finds that Boston charters maintained their high performance as they rapidly grew — perhaps because they closely emulated their original schools’ practices.

In talks

Tennessee
March 23, 2018

Hopson asks state to let struggling Memphis school remain with local district

The superintendent submits a list of reasons why the state should hold off on its intervention plan at American Way Middle School.

breaking

Tennessee
March 22, 2018

Memphis candidate no longer in running to lead Achievement School District

Keith Sanders said the state's education chief called him with the news that he would not advance in the superintendent search.

meet and greet

Tennessee
March 21, 2018

Tennessee seeks reset in Memphis with next leader of its school turnaround district

Community trust in the Achievement School District is low — an issue that the state wants to address in vetting superintendent candidates.

Superintendent search

Tennessee
March 21, 2018

Rhode Island school improvement leader among finalists to head Tennessee’s turnaround district

A Rhode Island school innovator meets with Memphis education stakeholders as a finalist to lead the Achievement School District.

back in town

Tennessee
March 8, 2018

Back in Memphis, founding superintendent of Tennessee’s turnaround district says the effort needs more time

In town this week for a philanthropic event, Chris Barbic told Chalkbeat that he expects low-performing schools absorbed by the state-run district to see more progress.

NEXT LEADER

Tennessee
March 8, 2018

Here are the four candidates to be the next superintendent of the Achievement School District

All four candidates to lead the Achievement School District are men with backgrounds in charters, turnaround work, or state departments — and one is based in Memphis.

standing firm

Tennessee
March 1, 2018

McQueen: If Memphis school leaders won’t convert American Way to a charter, the state will

The commissioner's comments come two days after Memphis leaders voted to move American Way Middle School into its highly regarded Innovation Zone.

Achievement School District

Tennessee
February 27, 2018

Tennessee seeks to combine two state-run elementary schools in Memphis

Tennessee’s school turnaround district wants to combine two of its elementary schools due to enrollment woes and poor building conditions.

taking a stance

Tennessee
February 27, 2018

Memphis leaders urge state to stay out of their school improvement work

Shelby County Schools plans to move one school to its Innovation Zone and declines the state’s recommendation to close another.

PRIMARY READY

Tennessee
February 26, 2018

Leadership that controls school funding will change in Memphis this year. Here’s who is running

Shelby County voters will elect a new mayor and a mostly new county commission this year.

Dueling pathways

Tennessee
February 26, 2018

McQueen’s plan would interrupt Hopson’s for improving one Memphis school

The state's recommendation to close Hawkins Mill Elementary comes in the school's first year of a three-year improvement plan under Shelby County Schools.

Play nice

Tennessee
February 22, 2018

Gov. Bill Haslam convened a ‘power meeting’ between Tennessee’s charter school and district leaders. Here’s why.

At issue is a new charter school law, which directs local districts to share student directory information requested by charter operators.

Movers & shakers

Tennessee
February 22, 2018

Former education leaders spearhead new Memphis group to zero in on poverty

Whole Child Strategies organized last fall to help neighborhood and community leaders chart their own poverty-fighting strategies.

pushing back

Tennessee
February 20, 2018

State’s most drastic school intervention plans won’t work, say Memphis board members

School board members suggest Hawkins Mill Elementary and American Way Middle instead move into the district's turnaround model, the Innovation Zone.

Turnaround 2.0

Tennessee
February 16, 2018

McQueen outlines state intervention plans for 21 Memphis schools

McQueen's letter offers the first look at how the state is pursuing school turnaround plans under its new tiered model of school improvement.

Warning List

Tennessee
February 8, 2018

Is your school in Tennessee’s bottom 10 percent? Here’s a list of 166 schools the state says need to improve

Here are three things to know about the warning list, which lists schools in the bottom 10 percent, followed by a searchable list.

Shake up

Tennessee
February 1, 2018

Rocketship becomes latest charter network to pull the plug on Tennessee’s Achievement School District

The California-based organization announces plans to close Partners Community Prep in Nashville, just months after the school opened.

moving forward

Tennessee
February 1, 2018

State turnaround district ready to hand off Memphis middle school to charter

Students at Westside Achievement Middle School likely will start next school year under a new operator.

Handoff proposed

Tennessee
January 24, 2018

State-run district proposes shifting Memphis middle school to homegrown charter group

The proposed change would keep Westside Achievement Middle School in the state-run Achievement School District but take it out of the district’s direct management.

Achievement School District

Tennessee
January 17, 2018

Here’s why another state-run charter school is closing in Memphis

The impending closure of GRAD Academy is another blow to the Achievement School District, in which the South Memphis school was its highest-performing high school.

Ruling

Tennessee
January 12, 2018

Judge orders Nashville schools to turn over student information to state charters

The ruling is a blow to local district leaders in both Nashville and Memphis, who have argued that a federal privacy law gives them discretion.

ASD CLOSURE

Tennessee
January 8, 2018

Highest-performing state-run high school to close due to ‘sustainability challenges’

GRAD Academy announced Monday that it would close its high school located in South Memphis at the end of this school year.

Looking back and ahead

Tennessee
December 21, 2017

Here are six big things that happened in Tennessee in 2017 that will resonate in 2018

From TNReady snafus to pre-K investments, Tennessee faced education challenges and opportunities in 2017 that are sure to make headlines again during the new year.

summer literacy

Tennessee
December 19, 2017

Memphis to receive more state-funded summer reading camps than previous year

In all, Tennessee will distribute about $8.9 million to pay for month-long camps at 203 schools across the state aimed at combating summer slide.

research shows

National
December 8, 2017

Advocates of the portfolio model for improving schools say it works. Are they right?

As with many education policies, the portfolio model is gaining adherents even while an research base is still being built.

search starts

Tennessee
November 29, 2017

Tennessee hires search firm to find next leader of its school turnaround district

The state Department of Education says it is using philanthropic funding, rather than state money, for the group’s services.

Student recruitment

Tennessee
November 16, 2017

How common is it for districts to share student contact info with charter schools? Here’s what we know.

Some districts explicitly do not share student information with charter schools. Others have clear rules for sharing. At least one city has carved out a compromise.

five years in

Tennessee
November 15, 2017

Tennessee’s two big school turnaround experiments are yielding big lessons, researchers say

Five years in, Tennessee receives a report card of sorts from researchers who have closely followed its two primary models for improving struggling schools.

Unified

Tennessee
November 15, 2017

Support grows in Memphis for keeping student info from state charter schools

Shelby County commissioners side with Shelby County Schools in the district's battle with the state over releasing student contact information.

pushing back

Tennessee
November 14, 2017

Parents: Want your state-run school to return to local control? Memphis’ school board wants a new state law to allow that.

The push for a new law to convert charter schools into district schools perpetuates the district’s resistance of the state’s growing role in local schools.

Transition plan

Tennessee
November 14, 2017

Two state-run schools sharing a Memphis building will now share a principal, too

ASD officials announced this week that Yolanda Dandridge will take the lead of Frayser Elementary, in addition to her role as principal at Georgian Hills.

Who's In Charge

Tennessee
November 10, 2017

What an author’s visit to Memphis tells us about competing ideas for the district’s future

The author was David Osborne, and his new book, “Reinventing America’s Schools,” argues that city school districts should stop directly running schools.

exclusive

Tennessee
November 9, 2017

For almost half of Memphis graduates, formal education ends after high school

New state reports are highlighting where students are going after graduating from high school.

changeup

Tennessee
November 1, 2017

Enrollment rises in Shelby County Schools for first time since suburban split

The gain was modest but serendipitous for a district that was bracing for another small decline.

Not me

Tennessee
October 25, 2017

Thousands of Memphis families opt out of sharing contact info with charter schools

Now board members are left with a choice: hand over the rest of the names, or face a lawsuit from the state.

school finance

Tennessee
October 23, 2017

Memphis charters could soon qualify for free rent in district-owned buildings

The proposal is the latest from the committee of charter and district leaders tasked with working through thorny issues between the sectors.

priority exit

Tennessee
October 20, 2017

Four Memphis schools improve enough to exit ‘priority’ list, including one in Achievement School District

The moves are significant, as only 16 percent of “priority” schools have moved off of the state’s 2012 and 2014 lists.
Tennessee
October 20, 2017

As Nashville heads to court over sharing student information with the state, here’s why Memphis probably won’t

Instead of outright rejecting McQueen's deadline last month like Nashville did, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson sought a compromise.
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