University of Memphis gets greenlight from TN to operate its own school district

Currently, the K-12 schools run by the University of Memphis are part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. But this is set to change. On Wednesday, the Innovative School District Act passed in the Tennessee General Assembly ― and it will allow U of M to operate its own local educational agency.

In other words, U of M will be running a separate school district. The governor has yet to sign the bill into law, but he isn't expected to veto it.

“While this is certainly a new concept for our state, being innovators in public education is not new to the University of Memphis,” said Sally Parish, associate VP for educational initiatives at U of M, in a press release. “We have always been trailblazers in education, and this opportunity is truly a testament to that.”

What are the University Schools?

U of M's school system is referred to as University Schools, and it serves preschoolers through twelfth graders. It partners with Porter-Leath to operate an early childhood academy in the Orange Mound area, runs the Barbara K. Lipman Early Learning and Research Center, and has three schools on its campus: Campus School, University Middle School, and University High School.

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The University Schools locations are training and laboratory schools ― which means they also serve as training sites for prospective teachers ― and they have performed well. In the 2022-23 academic year, University Schools had the highest overall pass rate of any school system in the state. Campus School, University Middle, and University High earned “A” letter grades from the Tennessee Department of Education.

Expansion of the model

Spurred by the schools’ strong performances, State Sen. Brent Taylor and State Rep. Mark White proposed the Innovative School District Act in the Tennessee General Assembly, which will allow U of M to operate its own school district and expand the University Schools model.

Per the legislation, U of M will operate an "Innovative School District," and be the first to do so in the state.

Already, University Schools has its own policies and procedures, employs its own teachers and staff, provides its own classroom facilities, and operates under the oversight of U of M's board of trustees. But its contract with MSCS caps the number of students it can serve at 1,050. Once it’s a separate school district, it can start to expand.

It’s expected to do this for three years, and the expansion is set to come through a slow-growth, community-informed model that addresses enrollment demands. Last month, Parish told Chalkbeat Tennessee that University Schools had “more children on our waitlist than we have in our schools.”

But now that it’s a separate school district, how will University School’s function?

It will follow state standards, just like any other school district. The U of M Board of Trustees will serve as its board of education, and some of its members will be appointed to a committee that carries out the functions of a local school board.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: University of Memphis will soon be operating it's own school district