The time to act is now.
A new study from Stanford found that a majority of school districts in the US have seen declining proficiency in reading and math, with the largest declines happening in underserved communities. According to Education Scorecard, students at Memphis-Shelby County schools performed an average of 2.37 grade levels behind their Tennessee peers between 2022 and 2025.
The data makes one thing clear: the time for bold action is now.
Election Results and Looking Forward
Election Day was on Tuesday, and we now have some idea of what our county’s elected leadership will look like when the victors are sworn in on September 1st. While the general election is not until August, historical trends can tell us who is likely to emerge from the field.
A Look Back on 20 Years of Data
The American Community Survey (ACS) recently released aggregate data from 2020-2024, marking the fourth time that they have released aggregate data for five-year periods. With this new trove of data to study, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at how Memphis has changed in key statistical areas over the last 20 years.
Early Voting Begins
A conference committee was appointed to hash out the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill that would appoint a board of managers to oversee Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Additionally, early voting has begun! For a list of polling locations and times, please see this link. You can vote at any early voting location on the list, even if it is not your regular polling location or in your part of town. You can find more information on the candidates or offices on the ballot on the Shelby County Election Commission’s website.
Mobility = Mobility
MATA has officially extended its fare-free pilot through March 31, with further expansion beyond that possible as well. The city council also approved a measure to reallocate millions of dollars from the Bus Rapid Transit system to shore up MATA’s existing operations.
MATA has long been underfunded compared to the need across Memphis. Ridership has dwindled as routes have been cut, and access has been hard to achieve for our sprawling city. Without physical mobility, we will never achieve economic mobility, so how do we fix Memphis’ public transit?