Believe Memphis Academy leaders attribute the improvement to having more staff to support students and teachers in virtual learning, including six people dedicated to resolving technology issues and connecting families to resources. That way, teachers can solely focus on instruction.
The proposed initiatives would mostly be paid for by the $500 million from the district’s third round of federal coronavirus relief money. But in order to sustain the changes and help students “climb their way out of generational poverty,” Ray, who’s approaching his second year as head of schools, said the district would need more money from city, county, and state governments.
Miska Clay Bibbs said Thursday that she doubts that the neighboring suburban system, Germantown Municipal School District, would continue to educate non-Germantown residents who live near Germantown Elementary, Germantown Middle, and Germantown High schools, known as the “three Gs.”
The Shelby County Schools 2021-22 school year will begin Aug. 9 and end before Memorial Day.
Obstacles for recently out-of-state teachers will have more dire consequences in coming years, as the number of teacher vacancies grow.
Discussions about the school calendar are an early sign of a desire by teachers, students, families, and district officials to return to normalcy even as effects of the pandemic linger.
Not understanding what grades and test results mean was always an issue but became more urgent during the pandemic, said Sarah Carpenter, Memphis Lift’s executive director.
From spotty communication and shaken trust in school leaders’ ability to keep communities safe to moments of joy and connection, what happened at Treadwell was a preview of the challenges and successes to come in pandemic education.