November 1, 2012
The Tennessee Higher Education Committee (THEC) released findings today that Teach For America in Memphis and Nashville are among the most effective teacher-preparation programs in the state.
Get to Know Education Champions Initiative
Elliot Perry, former University of Memphis basketball star and NBA standout, created the Education Champions initiative in 2011 to share stories and inspire action in Memphis
City Schools. Perry is a product of the local school system and knows the challenges urban school students face in the classroom and at home.
“My mom had me when she was 15 years old,” Perry told WREG-TV in Memphis. “If there’s one issue in our community that we should be fighting for and advocating for more than any other, positive or negative, it’s education—because it can fix everything.”
The Education Champions Initiative works to change the conversation about education in Memphis by highlighting champions with creative solutions for giving every child a chance at a high quality academic experience. It also encourages individuals to give, mentor, or advocate for the students in the Memphis school system.
Since its launch, ECI has identified 18 Champions as the groups on the frontlines of improving Memphis education. Among these are schools or school systems such as The Soulsville Charter School and KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools, and organizations including Teach For America, Stand for Children, and The New Teacher Project.
Given the energy of leaders like Elliot Perry and the community of champions gathering around education reform, Teach For America corps members and alumni are part of an exciting effort to create lasting change for the student in Memphis.
Region Timeline
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The city's population grows at an extreme rate due to its prime location in the center of the U.S. and bordering the Mississippi River. As tradesmen and immigrants flood into Memphis, its rich, fertile soil is quickly noted, and it becomes a pivotal stop in the slave trade and cotton picking industry.
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Previously inhabited by Chickasaw Indians, Memphis is founded as a city along a four block radius with 50 citizens.
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The city’s first black schools emerge from the freedman camps established during the northern occupation.
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As a result of the yellow fever epidemic that strikes down a quarter of the population and nearly destroys the city of Memphis, the State of Tennessee repeals its charter.
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A new sewer system is put in place and an artesian water supply is discovered. These sanitation improvements lead to the eradication of yellow fever in Memphis and the return of the city’s charter two years later.
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Robert Church, an ex-slave business tycoon and powerful national Republican leader, begins the NAACP and builds the first public recreational facilities for African Americans in Memphis. The park named in his honor remains on Beale Street today.
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The “Memphis 13” becomes the first group of students to integrate Memphis City Schools when they enter first grade at four all-white schools.
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A labor dispute raised by the City of Memphis Sanitation Workers resonates across the country, bringing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the city and national attention to the challenges of the working poor. During his visit to Memphis on April 4, Dr. King is killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
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Court-ordered busing begins to fully integrate Memphis schools. Between January and August, more than 20,000 white students leave the district for nearby Shelby County or private schools. Today, Memphis continues to have the most segregated private school system in the country.
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Northcross v. Board of Education, the long-fought case to desegregate Memphis City Schools, is formally discharged. The case is dismissed not because the plaintiffs achieved their initial goals, but because it becomes clear in demographic data that desegrating MCS is no longer an accomplishable task.
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Dr. Carol Johnson becomes superintendent of Memphis City Schools and brings with her several bold ideas and partner organizations to enact reform in education, including KIPP, The New Teacher Project, and New Leaders for New Schools.
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The Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners approves a $90 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative.
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Tennessee is awarded more than $500 million in the federal government’s Race to the Top competition, based on the state’s comprehensive, four-year, school reform plan.
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Memphis residents, the City Council, and each member of the school board vote to disband Memphis City Schools, effectively merging the system with the more affluent, majority-white Shelby County School District.
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Tennessee creates the Achievement School District to turn around the lowest 5% of schools in the state (88), 69 of which are in Memphis. Teach For America alumnus Chris Barbic is named the ASD’s first superintendent.
Overheard
There’s a national conversation going on right now about how to improve our schools and ensure that American kids can compete with any kids anywhere in the world, and Tennessee is at the epicenter of the conversation.
Houston Corps 1992
