Parents, educators and community members gathered Thursday, Sept, 4, at a Memphis-Shelby County Schools town hall meeting to voice concerns about the proposed state takeover of the district. The event, held in partnership with Stand for Children Tennessee and the Equity Alliance, drew a large turnout of families eager to ask questions and share frustrations.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond led much of the conversation, joined by members of the Shelby County Board of Education. The evening was facilitated by therapist Pametria Brown, who ensured every participant was given space to be respectfully heard.
Richmond began by offering a sweeping overview of Memphis’ and Shelby County’s complex education history, underscoring how decades of shifting policies, reforms and funding challenges continue to impact schools today.
“People talk a lot about school accountability, but school accountability has really only been around for about 25 years,” Richmond said. He walked parents through milestones including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which set a goal of 100% student proficiency by 2014; the 2007 BEP 2.0 funding changes that introduced Memphis’ first school turnaround model; and the 2008 city decision to withdraw its funding for education, which triggered a structural deficit that lasted nearly a decade…