Former school district in Tennessee, United States
Memphis City Schools (MCS) was the school district operating public schools in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It was headquartered in the Frances E. Coe Administration Building. On March 8, 2011, residents voted to disband the city school district, effectively merging it with the Shelby County School District.[1] The merger took effect July 1, 2013. After much legal maneuvering, all six incorporated municipalities (other than Memphis) created separate school districts in 2014.[2]Total enrollment, as of the 2010-2011 school year, was about 103,000 students,[3] which made the district the largest in Tennessee.
MCS served the entire city of Memphis.[4] Some areas of unincorporated Shelby County were zoned to Memphis City Schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Some unincorporated areas of Shelby County were zoned to schools in Shelby County Schools for elementary and middle school and Memphis City Schools for high school.[citation needed]
In the mid-1960s, the district had about 130,000 students. The numbers of white students and black students were almost equal.[5]
In the mid-1960s, the district still segregated its schools. Daniel Kiel, a law professor at the University of Memphis who had authored publications about school integration in Memphis, said that the efforts to desegregate were, as paraphrased by Sam Dillon of The New York Times, "subterfuge and delay".[5] Desegregation first began with the Memphis 13, a group of first graders.[6] In 1973, the federal government ordered desegregation busing in Memphis. As a result, massive white flight occurred in Memphis City Schools. In 1973, the school district had 71,000 White students. In a period of four years, 40,000 of the White students left.[5]
In July 2011, the Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners voted to postpone opening Memphis City Schools indefinitely until the Memphis City Council provided money set aside for the school system.[7] The incident was reported in national news.
In 2011 Marcus Pohlmann, a Rhodes College political science professor, wanted to study the Memphis schools to compare performances of schools with low income student bodies and schools with higher income student bodies. He concluded that he was unable to do so because "There are no middle-class black schools in Memphis. They’re all poor."[5]
School uniforms
All MCS students were required to wear school uniforms from the fall of 2002 until the district was dissolved in 2013.[8] Students could wear oxford shirts, polo shirts, turtlenecks, and blouses with "Peter Pan" collars. Colors varied, depending upon the school. In general, all white shirts were acceptable. Sweatshirts had to be white, black, navy blue, tan or any other colors approved by the individual campus. Trousers, shorts, skirts, and jumpers had to be black, tan, or navy blue. Denim clothing was not allowed.[9] When MCS and SCS merged in 2013, the former MCS schools kept this uniform policy while the existing SCS schools did not, since the suburbs planned to form their own districts and leave SCS within a year.[10]
Kate Bond Elementary School (Unincorporated Shelby County)
Bethel Grove Elementary School
William Brewster Elementary School
Brownsville Road Elementary School
Bruce Elementary School
Caldwell Elementary School
Carnes Elementary School
Charjean Elementary School
Cherokee Elementary School
Robert R. Church Elementary School
Coleman Elementary School
Cromwell Elementary School
Crump Elementary School
Cummings Elementary School
Dunbar Elementary School
Egypt Elementary School
Evans Elementary School
Fairley Elementary School
Florida-Kansas Elementary School
Fox Meadows Elementary School
Gardenview Elementary School
Georgia Avenue Elementary School
Germanshire Elementary School
Getwell Elementary School
Goodlett Elementary School
Gordon Elementary School
Graceland Elementary School
Guthrie Elementary School
Hamilton Elementary School
Hanley Elementary School
Hickory Ridge Elementary School
A. B. Hill Elementary School
Holmes Road Elementary School
Idlewild Elementary School
Keystone Elementary School
Klondike Elementary School
Knight Road Elementary School
Lakeview Elementary School
LaRose Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
Magnolia Elementary School
Manor Lake Elementary School
Newberry Elementary School[32]
Norris Elementary School
Oak Forest Elementary School
Oakshire Elementary School
Orleans Elementary School
Peabody Elementary School
Rainshaven Elementary School
Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows Elementary School
Richland Elementary School
Riverview Elementary School
Ross Elementary School
Rozelle Elementary School
Scenic Hills Elementary School
Sea Isle Elementary School
Shady Grove Elementary School
Shannon Elementary School
Sharpe Elementary School
Sheffield Elementary School
Sherwood Elementary School
South Park Elementary School
Spring Hill Elementary School
Springdale Elementary School
Vollentine Elementary School
Westhaven Elementary School
White Station Elementary
Whitehaven Elementary School
Willow Oaks Elementary School
Winchester Elementary School
Winridge Elementary School
Whites Chapel Elementary School
1-5
Campus School
K-4
Cordova Elementary School
Alternative elementary schools
K-6
Delano Elementary school
Former schools
Former elementary schools
Hollywood Elementary School (closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Springdale Elementary School)
Lauderdale Elementary School (closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Larose Elementary School)
Macon Elementary School (closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Berclair Elementary School)
Ridgeway Elementary School was merged into Balmoral Elementary in spring 2007. The building underwent moderate renovations to accommodate what is currently Ridgeway High School's Ninth Grade Freshmen Academy.
Seven Memphis City Schools have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education'sBlue Ribbon Schools Program, which honors schools that are academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.[33] These schools are:
1982-83 — Snowden School
1985-86 — Grahamwood School
1992-93 — Craigmont Junior/Senior High School
1993-94 — Richland Elementary School
2004 — Keystone Elementary
2005 — Delano Elementary School
2008 — John P. Freeman Optional School
Other facilities
Memphis City Schools was headquartered in the Francis E. Coe Administration Building,[34][35] It was shared with the pre-merger Shelby County Schools. The building has two wings, one for each district. As of 2013 the corridor linking the wings had a double-locked doors, and the glass panels had been covered by particle boards. Irving Hamer, the deputy superintendent of Memphis City Schools, described the barrier as "our Berlin Wall."[5]
^McMillin, Zack (8 March 2011). "Memphis voters OK school charter surrender". The Commercial Appeal. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
^Coverage of the School Merger News for Memphis, TN from The Commercial Appeal Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^Campbell Robertson, Memphis to Vote on Transferring School System to County Archived June 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, January 27, 2011
^"SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Shelby County, TN" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
^ a b c d eDillon, Sam. "Merger of Memphis and County School Districts Revives Race and Class Challenges Archived June 15, 2013, at archive.today." The New York Times. November 5, 2011. Retrieved on June 3, 2013.
^Moore, Linda (October 2011). "The Memphis 13: First-graders made history 50 years ago integrating Memphis schools". Memphis Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
^Associated Press, 07.20.11–Fund spat delays Memphis school start indefinitely Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^"Public School Uniforms". NAESP. Retrieved 11 March 2014.[permanent dead link]
^"Memphis City Schools School Uniforms." Memphis City Schools. March 8, 2012. Retrieved on June 2, 2013.
^K12.tn.us Archived November 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^Blue Ribbon Schools Program Archived April 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^"Contact Us Archived June 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." Memphis City Schools. Retrieved on July 2, 2013. "Memphis City Schools 2597 Avery Avenue Memphis, TN 38112"
^"Board of Commissioners Archived March 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." Memphis City Schools. Retrieved on July 2, 2013. "[...]the Francis E. Coe Administration Building, 2597 Avery Avenue."
Further reading
Collins, Thomas W. and George W. Noblit. "Stratification and Resegregation: The Case of Crossover High School, Memphis, Tennessee." (Archive) - Info page. ERIC Number: ED157954.
Noblit, George W. and Thomas W. Collins. School flight and school policy: Desegregation and resegregation in the Memphis City Schools. The Urban Review, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Fall 1978 (Cover date September 1, 1978), Volume 10, Issue 3, pp 203–212. DOI 10.1007/BF02174224. DOI 10.1007/BF02174224, Print ISSN 0042-0972, Online ISSN 1573-1960.
Pohlmann, Marcus D. Opportunity Lost: Race and Poverty in the Memphis City Schools. University of Tennessee Press, 2008.
External links
Memphis City Schools (mcsk12.net) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
Memphis City Schools (memphis-schools.k12.tn.us) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
SCSK12.org - Official Shelby County Schools Website