Memphis school board approves 2 charter applications, denies 1

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An all-girls charter school proposed for downtown Memphis and supported by the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies’ foundation can open for the 2025-26 school year, as can a K-8 charter school planned for Northeast Memphis.

But one other application from a newly rebranded charter operator didn’t fare so well with Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

The school board on Tuesday followed the recommendation of district staff and approved the application by Grizzlies Prep, which already operates an all-boys charter school downtown for 300 students in grades six through eight.

The Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory STEAM School for Girls will focus on science, technology, engineering, art, and math to try to address the underrepresentation of women — and particularly women of color — in those fields. It’s on track to become the city’s second all-girls charter school and the third one in Tennessee.

Without comment, the board ignored staff’s recommendation to reject the application of Journey Community Schools, formerly known as Aspire. The 5-1 vote means Journey Northeast Academy can open in the city’s Sycamore View area.

However, the board sided with staff by denying the bid of Green Dot Public Schools, which recently rebranded as IOTA Community Schools, to continue operating Wooddale Middle as it transitions back to Memphis-Shelby County Schools from the Achievement School District, a state-run turnaround program for low-performing schools.

IOTA has 10 days to appeal the decision to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

If the decision stands, IOTA has one more year to operate Wooddale Middle. Superintendent Marie Feagins promised a “deep review” of how to strengthen the school.

It was an especially busy meeting for school board members ahead of Thursday’s elections to fill five of their nine seats — and the first day of school for Memphis students on Aug. 5.

Without discussion, the board voted to end its contract with the University of Memphis to run its Campus Schools program in partnership with the district. That paves the way for the university to form its own K-12 school system under a new state law that encourages the creation of innovative school districts.

The contract had been for the university to operate its three K-12 schools on the university’s campus through 2026. But the board opted to end that long partnership at the urging of several state lawmakers.

Backers say the new arrangement positions the program to open more university-run K-12 schools in Greater Memphis and leverage an academic model that has generated some of the best results in Tennessee .

Feasibility studies and community conversations are already under way to determine an expansion plan.

The board also approved plans to return two additional schools to Memphis-Shelby County Schools from the beleaguered ASD .

Caldwell-Guthrie Elementary will rejoin its home district as a pre-K-8 school emphasizing STEAM skills. Among those enrolled will be students from Humes Middle School, another state-run school that closed at the end of last school year after a decade in the ASD. It had a hundred-year track record of serving Memphis students, including a young Elvis Presley who graduated when it was Humes High School.

Another ASD campus, Florida Kansas, which previously was operated by Memphis Scholars under a charter agreement with the state, will return to the MSCS district but no longer educate students. Its enrollees are moving to Riverview K-8.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org .