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]
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Spanish sign of Berclair Elementary School
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 November 2009, Memphis City Schools won a grant of $90 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The gift of more than $90 million from Gates to fund plans and improve teacher effectiveness, including raising the bar for tenure and paying $6,000 incentives for high-quality new teachers who stayed at least four years.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
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.
Memphis City Schools was headquartered in the Francis E. Coe Administration Building,[35][36] 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]
^"Contact UsArchived 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 CommissionersArchived March 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." Memphis City Schools. Retrieved on July 2, 2013. "[...]the Francis E. Coe Administration Building, 2597 Avery Avenue."
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