The Educator August 2024 Edition: Education Updates

Welcome to The Educator, Memphis Education Fund's one-stop shop for all education news. You can expect to discover updates on our latest initiatives, education-related advice, ideas and tools for parents, and more!

MEMPHIS STATE OF EDUCATION REPORT 2024

Our team at Memphis Education Fund spent the entire summer visiting every part of Memphis and Shelby County sharing our 2024 Memphis State of Education Report and having community conversations with parents, guardians, teachers, community leaders, and other community members.

You can view our full report here: Memphis State of Education Report 2024

As we continue to receive feedback and review the notes from the discussions, one thing that has been consistent is the request for additional conversations as new data becomes available. Please make sure you are following us on our social media channels so that you are included in the next round of community conversations.

TDOE WANTS PARENT FEEDBACK

The Tennessee Academic Standards are the grade or course-level expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The State Board of Education is charged under Tennessee statute (T.C.A. § 49-1-311-313) and State Board Policy (Standards Review Policy 3.209) to review and approve the English Language Arts (ELA), math, science, and social studies standards at least every eight years.

The first step in the review process is a survey open to all Tennesseans across the state. The State Board appreciates your interest in the ELA standards and welcomes your input. The surveys below will be open from August 12th, 2024, to September 8th, 2024.

To learn more about the standards review process, check out the State Board’s Standards Review Webpage.

YOU USED YOUR VOICES!

Five of the nine seats on Memphis-Shelby County Schools board were on the ballot August 1, at a time of great transition for the school district. You used your collective voices and elected the individuals who you feel will best shape the future of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Congratulations to the newly elected (and re-elected) Memphis-Shelby County School Board Members:

District 2

Natalie McKinney

District 3

Stephanie Love

District 4

Tamarques Porter

District 5

Sable Otey

District 7

Towanna C. Murphy

BACK TO SCHOOL

School is back in session. The first day of school for most Memphis and Shelby County students was Monday, August 5, 2024. You may view MSCS's 2024-2025 student calendar HERE.

Many Back-To-School events continue to happen across Memphis and Shelby County. Be sure to attend any of the upcoming events below:

4th Annual

Back to School Extravaganza

Date: Saturday, Aug. 17

Time: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Location: Whitehaven Library outdoor grounds, 4120 Mill Branch Road, Memphis.

If you missed the earlier back-to-school event hosted by Memphis Public Libraries, you can still come to this one at Whitehaven Library, featuring food and games. There will also be backpack giveaways while supplies last.

Teen Back To School

Block Party

Date: Saturday, Aug. 24

Time: 2-5 p.m.

Location: East Shelby Library, Meeting Room A & B,

7200 East Shelby Dr., Memphis.

This event from Memphis Public Libraries is for teens and their families. There will be food trucks, games, music, and a lip sync contest with prizes.

NEW MEMPHIS PROGRAMS

SPILLIT: Marathon, Not a Sprint

Date: August 22, 2024

Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Location:

New Memphis

516 W. Tennessee St., Ste. 301

Memphis, TN 38103

Join New Memphis and Spillit for a Center Stage event - an evening of stories from educators that speak to the theme, “Marathon, Not a Sprint."

New Memphis will also celebrate 5 years of our Stride cohort for early-career educators and announce our 2024 Educators of Excellence award winners.

This free event is open to all community members - you do not need to be an educator to attend! Light refreshments and drinks will be provided. We hope you come celebrate the start of a new school year with us by listening to these powerful stories and celebrating our alumni and new winners.

STRIDE PROGRAM

Great teachers are critical to our city’s future success. Stride is a free program that offers the support early career teachers need to thrive as educators in Memphis. In addition to social outings and fun opportunities to explore Memphis, Stride provides an environment of collaborative learning, peer networking, and professional development. By engaging teachers in their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd years in the classroom, Stride helps retain our community’s most promising educators. Interested?

Apply or nominate an educator for Stride today!

STAY CONNECTED

Have you visited our updated website? Check it out here.

Are you following us on all of our social media channels? Memphis Education Fund is on Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin.

Make sure you're connected to us to stay up-to-date on all educational news.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

There are a lot of great things happening in Memphis and Shelby County. Share your events with us so that we can share them on our social channels and feature them in our monthly newsletters.

Email us at info@memphiseducationfund.org.

Fueling teachers, schools, and communities