Fostering Belonging at School through the Arts | Weekly Policy Update
Increased civic engagement, greater social tolerance, and other social and emotional learning skills are just a few benefits of arts education.
Data from our local community schools partnership with New Ballet shows a significant increase in students who feel a sense of belonging in school since the program’s inception.
Big Week of MSCS News | Weekly Policy Update
Routine testing in Memphis-Shelby County schools uncovered lead levels above state standards in 24 district schools, mostly in kitchen sinks. Additionally, auditors from a national accounting firm arrived in Memphis last week for a state-funded audit of MSCS spanning back to 2021.
Also covered in this update: A new MSCS committee to discuss facility maintenance, news on former Superintendent Marie Feagins’ lawsuit, and the county commission’s resolution to move school board elections.
xAI, Head Start, and How to Read the Law | Weekly Policy Update
Porter-Leath has been awarded federal funding to expand its Head Start services for Shelby County and will serve an additional 2,920 children ages 3-5 years old in partnership with First 8 Memphis and dozens of local providers. Porter-Leath is now enrolling children at over 30 locations and hiring staff to serve children and families.
xAI, the company at the center of several news stories related to air pollution in South Memphis, is donating millions to facility upgrades to be used in four high schools in xAI’s surrounding area.
Also in this edition: learn how we review upcoming legislation!
School Board Elections Might Look Different | Weekly Policy Update
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners has voted to advance a resolution to change Memphis-Shelby County school board elections to align with those of the Shelby County Commission. This would put all nine MSCS board seats on the November 2026 ballot and truncate the terms of those elected in 2024.
The change is expected to increase voter turnout in school board elections. In the previous August 2024 election, only 13% of registered voters cast a ballot. Memphis school board elections have had turnout as high as 39% in 1980, but 13% in 2024 is a near-all-time low, edged out only by the 12.2% turnout in 2004.
What could $10 Billion do? | Weekly Policy Update
In early June, Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright sponsored a nonbinding resolution requesting that the federal government designate Memphis and Shelby County as a “priority community” when considering federal funding allocations for localities.
Wright’s resolution follows the logic of decades of research on the causes and effects of crime: Violence is high in places with persistent poverty due to a lack of opportunity, creating a cycle of poverty and crime that persists through generations.
You can read more about it in the Justice & Safety portion of the More For Memphis strategic plan.