The Educator February 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!

^{SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH UPDATE}

Following an extensive search process, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education voted on Friday, February 9, 2024, to offer a contract to Dr. Marie Feagins to serve as the District's next superintendent.

Dr. Feagins emerged as the choice after a comprehensive search that included robust input from the community, parents, teachers, and staff. Through community meetings, listening sessions, and candidate visits, the Board learned of Dr. Feagins' deep understanding of urban education, commitment to equity, and academic vision for MSCS.

Dr. Feagins is scheduled to officially begin her tenure as superintendent after the close of the 2023-24 school year. For more information about Dr. Marie Feagins, visit www.scsk12.org/supsearch/ or read the bio below.

About Dr. Marie Feagins:

With experience in teaching and counseling, Dr. Marie Feagins focuses her efforts on transforming high schools in Detroit. She currently serves Detroit Public Schools as Chief of Leadership and High Schools, where she nurtures relationships between and encourages growth among district colleagues, community partners, students, and their families.

Dr. Feagins’s transformative practices in her “whole-soul” leadership style have sparked growth in several areas across high schools, reflected in student and staff accomplishments, and her background in media helps her connect with different audiences.

Dr. Feagins received her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from Samford University, an Education Specialist/ Master of Education in School Counseling degree from the University of West Alabama, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Alabama, and a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University.

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY NOW!

Terence Patterson, the CEO of Memphis Education Fund, is a nationally recognized education advocacy leader with a commitment to transforming education in Memphis.

A Harvard graduate and former President & CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission - the first African-American and youngest person to hold the position - Patterson brings a wealth of experience to his role.

He champions initiatives such as public-school choice, boosting parent engagement, student-based budgeting, and universal pre-K.

Fun Fact: Terence is also an alum of The Memphis Challenge!!!

Join us in recognizing Terence Patterson’s impact on education as he works towards creating equitable and quality education opportunities for every student in the city.

MEF STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations to our very own Director of Finance, Binh Doan, on being selected as a Mosaic Changemaker Fellow!

Introducing the 2024 Mosaic Fellowship Tennessee cohort!

Binh Doan

Director of Finance & Strategy

Memphis Education Fund

Binh Doan is the director of finance and strategy at Memphis Education Fund. She leads work centered around school quality and growth through partnerships with school and high-impact technical providers aimed at improving student learning and achievement. Prior to her time with MEF, Binh served as a teacher, then director of operations at Aurora Collegiate Academy. Her time in the classroom, as well as her experience as a first-generation college student, taught Binh about the intimate relationship between education and opportunity. Binh holds a Master of Education from Christian Brothers University and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.

SPRING BREAK

Spring is near! Memphis-Shelby County Schools will go on Spring Break beginning Monday, March 11 - Friday, March 15. Please continue to check MSCS's website and local news channels for more information.

FUN ACTIVITIES

There's always something to do in Memphis, especially for families. Take a look at some of the upcoming activities coming in the spring from Memphis Travel.

Memphis Travel

BES LENS

AP ACCESS FOR ALL MINI GRANT

$500 Grants Available for Tennessee AP Teachers

The AP Access for ALL (APAA) program is excited to award Tennessee public high school AP teachers with grants to support their AP classroom. Mini-grants will be up to $500 each and may be used to purchase supplies, resource books and activities, computer programs, and technology. Approximately thirty teachers have applied for mini-grants. Applications are still being accepted until all funding is awarded or until March 29, 2024. Fill out the application online today!

BES LENS Leadership Training Program

LENS is a valuable tool for schools looking to build the capacity of their leaders and strengthen their leadership bench. Through year-long, part-time training and coaching, LENS prepares its participants to lead with equity and advance their leadership potential in their schools.

LENS consists of the following:

Cohort-based program that provides structured network of support with LENS cohort colleagues
Comprehensive, targeted leadership training for educators in various roles
Biweekly 1:1 remote coaching with BES coach, including observations and feedback via live Zoom or recorded video
Two in-person cohort visits to study the practices of excellent and equitable schools
Access to exemplar resources from schools across the U.S.
Capstone project(s) and frequent samples of practice aligned to leader role and goals.
Optional site visits

Training topics include: Leadership Mindset & Voice, Leadership Accountability, Context Expertise, and Responsive Leadership. For more information about BES's LENS program, visit: www.bes.org.

* 5% off early bird discount is available for those who register by Feb. 29, 2024!

CHOICE CHAMPION SCHOLARSHIPS

Tennesseans for Student Success's new scholarship award, Choice Champions, opened on November 1st! The scholarship is open to all students graduating high school in the Class of 2024 from a school of choice and intending to enroll at any two- or four-year college or university during the 2024-2025 academic year.

The scholarship will award one student a $5,000 award, and five students $1,000 awards for use towards tuition, room & board, or other fees at any accredited college or university. The application will remain open until February 1st, and decisions will be made by March 15th.

The online application can be found at this link: https://tnsuccess.org/scholarship/

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.

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