“CBU has faced real challenges in recent years. We should not minimize them, and we should not allow them to define us. Our responsibility is to make the choices necessary to ensure this university can continue serving students and Memphis for generations to come.”

None of the nine state appointees poised to take control of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system will say whether they intend to act on the superintendent hiring timeline included in documents most of them voted to accept. 

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State takeover of MSCS can proceed, judge rules

U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. lifted an earlier block on the State of Tennessee’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

The U of M law school posted its highest bar-passage numbers in more than a decade, but school officials are aiming higher. 

According to state data, in 2024, nearly 20% of educators resigned from Tennessee’s largest school district compared with around 12% statewide.

Takeover board Chair Billy Orgel’s sworn statement is expected to lift a three-month hold on the state’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. But its unclear if the board’s new plans will capture all expenses it should review under state law.

Tamarques Porter and Sable Otey, two MSCS board members recently elected as this year’s chair and vice chair respectively, say they’re confident they can weather the storm.

When Collierville High teacher Brandi De La Cruz was named Tennessee Teacher of the Year in 2025, it was a first for the municipal school system. Now a second Collierville educator has claimed the honor.

UTHSC and elected officials broke ground Thursday on a new College of Medicine Interdisciplinary Building that aims to recruit prospective students and address a physician shortage.

A consulting firm that worked with Houston’s school system during its takeover has quietly played a key role in readying the state-appointed board to resume control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. 

Attorneys for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Shelby County government filed a new lawsuit in Shelby County Chancery Court

Lakeland school leaders are voicing their opposition to open enrollment and making sure district and city employees can still send their kids to the suburban system.

The meeting comes less than a week after a judge said he “didn’t mean to imply” the oversight board couldn’t do its work with a July 1 order, which MSCS and the state interpreted as a temporary halt.

How the oversight board determines what “ready” means could revive early criticisms from MSCS that the appointees lacked necessary structures to assume power over the school system.

It is unclear what the judge’s clarification from the bench on Friday, Oct. 2, may mean for control of Tennessee’s largest school system.

If capacity exists, Germantown Municipal School District will allow grandchildren of residents and children of alumni from the suburb’s schools to enroll.

Amid Tennessee takeover uncertainty, Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ elected board picked new leadership and added its 10th member: a student from Middle College High.

Northeast Prep Academy students celebrated the unveiling of a vibrant new Memphis Grizzlies and FedEx Dream Court featuring a hand-painted mural by local artist Siphne Sylve.

Colleges across the country face the withering student numbers that have led dozens of colleges to close their doors in recent years. In Memphis, enrollment for one school flatlines, another jumps and two more dip. 

More than three months after Memphis school leaders sued over Tennessee’s takeover law, the case’s first full hearing is set for Oct. 2 in Nashville.

Not all high school competition takes place on the gridiron or hardwood. For nearly four decades, a lot of it has taken place under the bright lights of a TV studio down by the river.

It’ll be a new school with a fresh look and state-of-the-art technology.

MSCS continues to lose students year over year, with over 2,000 fewer enrolled in the district compared to last August.

Arguments in the case are expected to determine whether the takeover remains paused or whether the new state-appointed board of nine regains control over Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Heather Fisher was appointed to the Germantown Board of Education last month, a few months ahead of the four-year term she is destined to win in November. Her new position allows her to build upon 25 years of education experience in Germantown.