Sign up for monthly text updates on the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board

Seven people gather around a set of tables to listen to a man in a suit speak about a presentation called “Memphis Shelby County Superintendent Search Continuation Conversation”
The Memphis-Shelby County School board meets with a superintendent search firm. Sign up for monthly text updates from Chalkbeat on the most important school board happenings. (Laura Testino / Chalkbeat)

Want to stay up to date on the latest news from the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board while also having a way to text your school board questions to Chalkbeat’s journalists? Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s texting service.

Each month, Laura Testino, who writes about MSCS for us, sifts through agendas and documents, attends board meetings, and interviews Memphis leaders, attendees, and others before and after the meetings. She reports the decisions made by the school board, and tells the stories of the people who will be affected by those decisions. 

And with our texting service, you’ll stay in the loop on the latest Memphis-Shelby County Schools board news, regardless of whether you’re able to attend board meetings.

Here’s how it works:

Sign up by texting SCHOOL to 901-599-2745 or enter your phone number into the box below. 

We hope the texting service will keep you informed, better able to hold district officials accountable, and more empowered to start community conversations about what public education should look like in Memphis.

We’ll text you twice a month, once before a board meeting to let you know it’s coming up, and once after with the biggest news.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools typically hosts its monthly board meetings at 5:30 p.m. the last Tuesday of each month at the Board of Education building. The meetings are also available for streaming on the district’s Facebook page. Find board meeting schedules and agendas here.

The Latest

Teachers and school district leaders spoke with Gov. Jared Polis about the impact of the withheld federal education funding.

CPS owes teachers retroactive raises for last school year and could be making more school-based cuts this month as it works to close a gaping deficit.

The proposed changes are aimed at providing more students the opportunity to move up a grade or take accelerated classes. Officials say internal data show most acceleration applicants come from the north side of the city, which is wealthier and whiter than other parts of Chicago.

Crime rates suggest Detroit is a safer place. But recent incidents, such as the fatal shooting of two youths in a Detroit park, contribute to safety concerns among young people.

By the time I was 11, I was exposed to toxic comments and content.

Tennessee students showed slight progress in statewide testing this year, though a majority of third graders did not meet a significant reading benchmark.