Latest federal accountability reports show improvements at these MSCS schools

What’s happening: The future is looking brighter for Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) as Tennessee’s largest school system has improved on last year’s federal accountability report, moving up from a “satisfactory” rating to the “advancing” designation. The designation is based on measures of reading and math comprehension, attendance rates, support for English language learners, and graduation rates.

What it means: "This recognition proves that the hard work of our teachers, staff, students, and families is paying off,” says Board Member Tamarques Porter. “We’re making progress together, and this is just the beginning of what we can achieve as a community.”

Where it’s happening: Improvements were perhaps felt most at five schools, including B. T. Washington High, Cherokee Elementary, Kingsbury High, KIPP Memphis Collegiate High, and Manassas High. Each of the schools improved to the point of being removed from the state’s list of underperforming schools. Another four schools were notable for making strides in education for students faced with various challenges, with those including Kate Bond Middle School, Sherwood Elementary, South Park Elementary, and Treadwell Elementary School.

Top performers: A total of 34 schools in the MSCS district were recognized as Reward Schools, achieved for demonstrating “high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance by meeting objectives across performance indicators and student groups, and the Reward School distinction places significant emphasis on performance and improvement across all indicators from the prior school year,” as defined per the TDEC website. Those schools can be viewed in the accompanying table below.



What they’re saying:  “We know that we still have great work to do, but we are proud of how far our schools have come,” says Dr. Marie Feagins, Superintendent of MSCS. “We’re chasing excellence, and together, we will continue to rise.”