Tag: Shelby County

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College-Going Rate Increases For State of Tennessee

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Tennessee’s high school graduates are headed to college at an increasingly higher rate, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission announced. The THEC said this is the largest “year-over-year” increase since 2015, when the Tennessee Promise scholarship was introduced.

This announcement is the result of a collaborative goal from THEC and other state partners to make a “Momentum Year” for the class of 2023. According to Steven Gentile, THEC executive director, they wanted to encourage more adults to enroll in higher education through Tennessee Reconnect, a return to higher education initiative.

“It is gratifying to see those efforts pay off in helping even more Tennessee students and adult learners pursue their dreams and careers with college degrees and workforce credentials beyond high school,” Gentile said.

THEC’s college-going rate shows the percentage of public school students who enroll in postsecondary education after high school, officials said. 56.7 percent of the class of 2023 will attend college in the fall, a 2.4 percent increase from 2022. 

Shelby County’s graduating class of 2023 consisted of 8,557 people, the largest class in the state, and had a college-going rate of 52.8 percent. While this rate was lower than the state average, it  increased by .5 percent from 2022.

Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) said after further research that they did not have specific information on MSCS’ college-going rate, acceptance rate, or impact on dual enrollment as it relates to this report.

While the commission celebrated a state-wide increase in college going, their report Tennessee College Going and the Class of 2023, showed certain trends for some racial demographics and gender pairings. They group found that  white females, hispanic males, and females identifying as “other” saw growth above their state average.

The report also showed that students who participate in dual enrollment courses contributed to high college-going rates. They also found that while the number of college-bound students enrolled at in-state public schools decreased, they found that-out-of-state students enrolled in schools.

THEC said this growth is a “positive outcome,” however they highlighted that there was opportunity for growth when examining “economically disadvantaged” students, who enrolled in school at lower rates.

“Economically disadvantaged is a designation used at the K-12 level to indicate socioeconomic status and includes students who are in foster care, homeless, migrant students, runaway students, and students who participate in federal/state income/nutrition programs,” THEC said.

Students in this category contributed to a 39.3 percent college going rate, while non-economically challenged students saw a 65.3 percent college rate.

This report not only measured the rate at which students enrolled in post-secondary education, but it also looked at barriers preventing students from doing so such as navigating the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.)

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Mulroy Responds

DA Mulroy in Germantown (Photo: Jackson Baker)

Some six days after District Attorney Steve Mulroy was verbally eviscerated at the Shelby County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day banquet, Mulroy had the opportunity, before a Democratic audience, to be celebrated instead and to respond to GOP calls for his official ouster.

Mulroy had arrived as an attendee at last Wednesday night’s monthly meeting of the Germantown Democratic Club at Coletta’s on Appling when the event’s designated speaker, state Senator Sara Kyle, temporarily ceased speaking and invited him to come to the front of the room and address the large crowd on hand.

He began by thanking the audience for an extended round of applause — “It stiffens my soul” — and acknowledging his current predicament — “These are trying times right now.”

Even before the events of the last few weeks, he said, “Strangers come up to me all the time. And they say, ‘Man, I wouldn’t have your job.’ I get it. There’s no lack of stress in the job. But, you know, obviously, things have ratcheted up lately.” 

He pronounced a vow by Republican state Senator Brent Taylor to launch an ouster mechanism in the next General Assembly as “pure partisan politics” and continued, “It’s unprecedented in Tennessee history to remove somebody over what are essentially policy differences. It’s never been done. Under what we call the ‘for-cause standard,’ you have to identify specific acts or omissions that are official misconduct, or wholesale dereliction of duty.

“You know, the triggering event” — a tentative proposal to offer official diversion to nonviolent felons caught with illegal firearms — “was a program which I’ve now withdrawn. So as far as I’m concerned, there’s no need to talk about it anymore. But if anybody wants me to explain it, either now or one-on-one, I will, but the main takeaway is, don’t get caught up in arguments about these discrete little issues here and there. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. But the overarching theme is there’s no official misconduct.”

Mulroy professed to be “offended on behalf of my staff … because I happen to have 230 hardworking staff in those courtrooms every day, doing the best they can to keep Shelby County safe.”

“But, you know,” he said, “nothing’s going to happen for another six months. Six months is a long time. A lot can happen in that time. What I would ask you to do is spread the word. There’s going to be a lot of BS on social media. Over the next six months, I’d like to deputize you all to be my social media warriors, as it were, and counter the BS because at the end of the day, either Shelby County’s district attorney is chosen by the voters of Shelby County or is chosen by politicians in Nashville.” 

The governing politicians of the Republican supermajority came in for criticism as well from Kyle, a candidate for re-election this year, when she resumed her remarks. She condemned a variety of alleged GOP misprisions, including corporate tax rebates granted at the expense of maternal healthcare, inaction on gun safety bills, and Governor Bill Lee’s push for student vouchers.

Although she didn’t address the matter in her speech, the senator is devoting significant time these days to caring for her husband, Chancellor Jim Kyle, who is afflicted with CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) and has had to suspend his judicial caseload. More on this anon. 

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Pawsitive Training Benefits Shelter Dogs and Incarcerated Women

Photo Credit: Shelby County Division of Corrections

Community organizations are partnering to build relationships between incarcerated women and shelter dogs through an intensive training program.

The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County, Shelby County Division of Corrections, and Allegiance Canine recently announced the launch of the Pawsitive Training Program designed to emphasize the positive impact on both parties.

The program takes cues from a 2021 University of Washington study that found that programs like these help incarcerated people and pets alike.

“Studies have shown that canine training programs have mutual benefits,” said Deputy administrator of Shelby County Office of Reentry, Dominique Winfrey-McKinnie. “ The programs enhance inmates’ social and emotional IQ, accountability and sense of responsibility, and the trained dogs may find their forever homes quicker. It’s a beautiful exchange of empathy and understanding that transforms both hearts and minds.”

Winfrey-McKinnie said this is an “innovative and creative” initiative for Shelby County as it enhances the inmate population through rehabilitation programs. She notes that the Division of Corrections has done a “phenomenal” job with programs for women, however much of the training focuses on “hard skill” trades such as operating forklifts, welding and barbering. 

“We wanted programs that worked on responsibility and accountability and teach interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence,” Winfrey-McKinnie said. 

Ellen Zahariadis, executive director of the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County said they believe in the “transformative power of compassion,” and this program allows participants to build meaningful connections.

“Together, we are creating second chances for everyone involved,” Zahariadis said.

During the six-week program five dogs will be paired with five groups of two women. Organizers say they will go through a “rigorous interview and assessment process, while the dogs will undergo training from Allegiance Canine. All training will be held at the Shelby County Division of Corrections.

Zahariadis said the dogs will benefit from this “one-on-one, intensive training” as they’ll “learn their manners” before they’re adopted. In turn, this will make them more likely to be adopted by people who are looking to bring dogs into their homes.

“It’ll give them a better sense of being in a home and interacting with people out in the community,” Zahariadis said. “Anytime our animals are able to spend more time with people and have those kinds of interactions — it’s so much better for them.”

The dogs will learn marker words, recall and sit commands, manners around humans and other dogs, and more. Zahariadis added the participants also learn patience and other traits through positive reinforcement, which is the primary method used. 

“It really reinforces those personal skills in people. It could also turn out to be a career path for somebody when they’re learning how to work with animals,” Zahariadis said.

Not only will the program help women with accountability and responsibility, Winfrey-McKinnie said this program will also help participants to engage in meaningful relationships.

“Although it’s with an animal, animals have emotions, animals have character — they have personality,” Winfrey-McKinnie said. “Learning how to navigate those things while also being gentle, yet firm — it’s a skill that’s necessary for all of us as adults, which will be helpful for them as well when they come home.”

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris calls this program a “win-win training initiative.”

“Not only do inmates get to assist in transforming the lives of shelter dogs, but they also gain crucial skills and experience as canine trainers that may lead to future employment,” Harris said.

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Report: Shelby County Among the Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

Photo by Maxim Tolchinskiy on Unsplash

In the U.S., Shelby County is one of the areas most vulnerable to climate change.

That’s according to the new U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, developed in partnership between the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University. The study shows, basically, which areas of the country will suffer the most as climate change continues, and continues to get worse.

Climate change vulnerability is more than just susceptibility to environmental disasters like droughts, wildfires, and floods. The new tool considered 184 sets of public data to establish how communities may suffer under climate change.

“Climate change will cause a range of related risks, including increases in infectious and chronic disease, intensified social and economic stresses, and more frequent extreme weather events,” reads the tool’s website. “Vulnerable groups will be disproportionately affected due to greater exposure to climate risks and lower ability to prepare, adapt, and recover from their effects.”

U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index

The U.S. Southeast is particularly vulnerable to climate change, according to the study. Areas in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were scored among the least vulnerable in the country. 

Shelby County scored in the 97th percentile of vulnerable counties in the nation. The score put the Memphis area only slightly behind Louisiana’s Cancer Alley for climate vulnerability. 

U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index

Shelby’s score did not, however, rank it among the country’s top-10 most vulnerable counties. Five of the top 10 counties ranked worse in the study were in Louisiana. Three were in Kentucky. Sites in Texas and South Carolina rounded out the top 10. 

Shelby County did not even rank first for potential climate suffering in Tennessee. It ranked 9th behind counties mostly in East Tennessee. 

Shelby County did earn the top spot in one national metric, however. Shelby had the most census tracts (21) concentrated in one county among the top 100 most vulnerable. 

These at-risk communities are in lower-income areas north of Downtown, like Frayser, Alta Vista, Douglass, and Hollywood. They can also be found in areas of the county south of Downtown like Riverview, Walker Homes, Valley Forge, and Whitehaven. 

Areas inside the I-240 Loop deemed to suffer less during climate change are inside the Downtown business and entertainment districts, and those along the Poplar Corridor. Most areas east of and outside of the Loop are less vulnerable to climate change, the report said. 

U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index

Areas less at risk of climate change vulnerability here are predominately more wealthy. One outlier, however, is a section of Collierville, which is seemingly more at risk thanks to the presence of a Carrier Air Conditioning Co. Superfund site.  

Shelby County scored high (which is bad) for exposures to harmful materials. Overall, the county scored in the 98th percentile of all U.S. counties for the total amount of toxic chemicals released into an area. 

Toxins released in the air are particular threats in Shelby County. The county scored in the 98th percentile for the amount of air pollution regulated by the government. The county scored near the top in categories showing how dangerous those toxic air pollutants and diesel particles are to the body’s nervous system (99th percentile), thyroid (99th percentile), and in increased cancer risk (94th percentile).

The county also scored high for the amount of land that is developed here, the number of payday lenders, affordable housing, traffic congestion, the total number of road miles per person, road quality, indoor plumbing, the cost of climate disasters, residential energy expenditures, and more. 

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U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE Funding Awards $38.2 Million to MATA and Shelby County

Photo: U.S. Department of Transportation via Facebook

Two Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants have been awarded to Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) and Shelby County. This grant program comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Congressman Steve Cohen announced that MATA will be receiving $25 million for its Crosstown Corridor Safety and Multi-Modal Enhancement Program, while Shelby County will be receiving $13.2 million for its Eliminating Barriers on North Watkins (Project ELBOW).

“These major projects, which both include important complete streets elements to ensure safety and accessibility for all road users, will transform our community, creating efficient and safe travel corridors where they’re most needed,” said Cohen in a statement. “This investment will lead to a bright future for Memphis drivers and transit riders. I’m also proud that this funding was made possible by the massive investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I supported.”

MATA’s Crosstown Corridor Safety and Multi-Modal Enhancement Program will provide “complete street improvements and Bus Rapid Transit service along an approximately 26-mile corridor.”

This project will also include improvements to sidewalks, bus stations, intersection improvements, and signalization.

Project ELBOW will use funds to “design and reconstruct the 1960s-era bridge over the Wolf River,” said the U.S. Department of Transportation in a statement. 

“[The Wolf River] is rated in poor condition and will be upgraded to seismic standards and more accessible during emergency and evacuation events, and approximately 3.3 miles of complete street improvements.”

The grants are part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, said the U.S. Department of Transportation. The department also stated that 70 percent of the grants go toward projects “in regions defined as an Area of Persistent Poverty or a Historically Disadvantaged Community.”

“This round of RAISE grants is helping create a new generation of good-paying jobs in rural and urban communities alike, with projects whose benefits will include improving safety, fighting climate change, advancing equity, strengthening our supply chain, and more,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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Highs and Lows

Justin J. Pearson took “The Movement” to Germantown last Thursday. (Photo: Jackson Baker)

Back in the early fall of 2021, the Tennessee legislature, meeting in special session, voted to subject the powers of health departments in home-rule counties — like Shelby (Memphis) or Davidson (Nashville) — to veto-like controls by the state health department.

That action, taken at the still virulent height of the Covid pandemic amid controversies over masking and school shutdowns, was the most notable action of that special session.

Another important change was voted in with conspicuously less fanfare. The General Assembly, dominated then as now by Republican supermajorities in both houses, also struck down prohibitions against partisan elections for school boards, allowing school districts, anywhere in Tennessee, to have partisan school board primaries at their own discretion.

At the time, the Democratic and Republican parties of Shelby County opted not to avail themselves of the primary option.

That’s all changed now. The Democratic Party of Shelby County, chair Lexie Carter confirms, has informed the Election Commission that it intends to conduct primaries in March to determine official party candidates for the five Shelby County Schools seats to be voted on next year.

Shelby GOP chair Cary Vaughn, in noting that the county’s Republicans will not follow suit, said, “We are Republican strong [sic] through the municipalities and suburban areas pertaining to school board races. These communities know their leaders, and they know exactly who to support. We are giving them the freedom and flexibility to do so.”

The partisan primaries for other Shelby County offices stem from a 1992 decision by the local GOP, then marginally more populated, to try to steal a march on the Democrats.

• Some Shelby Countians have ulterior motives for this year’s scheduled special session of the legislature, set for this August after the spring’s gun massacre at a Nashville Christian school and intended to “strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights”

The headline of a message being sent around by various conservatives sets forth their desire: “Let’s Get Rid of Steve Mulroy Before Labor Day 2023!” Maintaining that violent crime has increased “geometrically” in recent months, the message proclaims that first-term Democratic DA Mulroy “as the top law enforcement officer in the county … is accountable for this increase.”

The message, being circulated petition-style, urges those who agree to go to a state government website and argue for including that premise — technically, an “impeachment” procedure, spoken to in Article VI, Section 6, of the state constitution and requiring a two-thirds majority vote of both houses — as part of the forthcoming session.

On its face, the effort lacks credibility, both in its premises and in its prospects. A “nothingburger,” summarized Mulroy, on the same day that he and Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis had announced a dramatic series of new arrests and indictments in a joint effort to combat organized “smash and grab” retail burglaries, and it has clearly not gathered any traction.

But it is apparently not the most ridiculous effort aimed at Mulroy. Still to be confirmed is the reality of an offer, allegedly being considered by a hyper-wealthy Memphian, notorious already from previous bizarre actions, to provide the DA with $1 million, plus an additional $200,000 offer for each year of his vacated term, to take leave of his office voluntarily now.

What’s the saying? “Fat chance.”

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Shelby County To Invest $194K into Transitional Housing

Credit:My Sistah's House

The Shelby County government has announced an investment of $194,000 into transitional housing at My Sistah’s House. According to government officials, it is an investment in “critical transitional housing for some of Shelby County’s most vulnerable community members.”

My Sistah’s House was founded in 2016 by  Kayla Rena Gore and Illyahnna C. Wattshall, two trans women of color who, according to My Sistah’s House, “sought to bridge a gap in services for trans and queer people of color (TQPOC) in Memphis, TN, with a focus on transgender women of color. “

The organization focuses on building and renovating homes in hopes of helping trans women move towards home ownership. They provide emergency housing for trans and gender nonconforming people on a temporary basis. According to My Sistah’s House, housing is a safe zone and drug free.

“When My Sistah’s House first started, there were only 71 beds available in emergency shelters across Memphis and Shelby County and none of them were designated as trans-specific,” said Gore, executive director of My Sistah’s House.  “As a Black trans woman, I know the need for security. So far, we’ve been able to provide that security to 35 trans and queer people of color through our emergency housing program. With this investment from Shelby County Government, that security can go even further.”

Government officials also said that members of the Black trans community experience homelessness at a higher rate than most of the country.

A 2018 study from the National LGBTQ+ Task Force reported that 41 percent of Black trans people were without housing at one point in time. This was about five times higher than the rest of the country.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said that transitional housing gives people a path to independence, and that they are providing “stable, safe housing,” to the community’s most vulnerable [population.]

“Unfortunately our trans community faces disproportionate hardships every day and are now being legislated against for simply being who they are. These kinds of investments in transitional housing can reduce homelessness, increase public safety, and create a brighter future for all of us,” said Harris.

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Community-Based Organizations Discuss Impact of HIV Funding Being Cut

(Credit: Testalize.me on Unsplash)

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the Shelby County Health Department invited community-based organizations to form the HIV Equity Coalition (HIVE Coalition) in response to the state of Tennessee cutting HIV funding.

According to a statement from the mayor’s office, the HIVE Coalition “will engage area stakeholders to discuss the current problems facing people with HIV and how Governor Bill Lee, the State of Tennessee, and Health Commissioner Ralph Alvarado’s refusal to accept nearly $10 million in federal funds for HIV care and prevention will impact patients and vulnerable populations.” 

“The HIVE Coalition will also discuss ways for the community and local officials to help support organizations following the state’s destructive decision,” said the statement.

Mayor Harris was joined by representatives from the Shelby County Health Department, Friends for Life, OUTMemphis, Hope House, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation to host a panel discussion on Zoom to not only discuss the work they are doing to help those impacted by HIV, but to share how cutting funds will disrupt their efforts.

“This is the start of our efforts, which we are committed to sustaining until our vulnerable HIV population has the level of healthcare access that we know is needed,” said Harris.

According to Jerri Green, senior policy advisor for Shelby County, there are 19,000 Tennesseans living with HIV. Green added that Shelby County ranked number three in “incidence rates of new HIV infections in the United States,” and the disease disproportionately affects those in minority populations.

“What we’re really talking about is creating equity in a space where this funding being cut is going to jeopardize that equity,” said Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department. “The fact that this funding is being cut is going to be devastating to the community.”

Taylor also explained that community-based organizations help the Shelby County Health Department’s outreach efforts in not only the treatment space but the prevention space as well.

Molly Quinn serves as the executive director of OUTMemphis, which launched its HIV prevention campaign 12 years ago. While the organization focuses most of its programs and services on the LGBTQ community, its HIV prevention services are open to all.

“We feel very strongly about the importance of LGBTQ experiences in our public health outcomes, which are so severely negative in this part of the country, in this part of the world,” said Quinn. “We really look forward to a time when politics are no longer a part of our public health.”

Hope House serves families that have been affected by HIV. They also have a full service social services house that provides support services and more to those living with HIV.

“Prevention is so incredibly important,” said Melissa Farrar, director of social services at Hope House. “We have babies that are not living with HIV because of prevention efforts in our community, so the prevention funding is so important for everyone in the community. It’s so important that everyone has equitable access to prevention services.”

Diane Duke, CEO of Friends For Life, explained that they initially started out as a “group of people who helped their friends die with dignity,” but her organization has come a long way thanks to prevention efforts.

“We are dependent on funds from the federal government in order for us to be successful in our mission,” said Duke.

Duke explained that they received a grant for $463,000. However, funding from the CDC qualified them for the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which according to their website, “enables covered entities to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services.” According to Duke, that would result in losses of $1.7 million in funding annually.

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Dates Certain

Rick White (Photo: Courtesy Rick White)

From the intensity of both behind-the-scenes action and up-front newsmaking, it would almost seem that the 2023 city election — especially the mayoral-race component of it — is a matter of immediate import.

The fact is, however, that for all the present abundance of action, we are still four months from the first day that candidate petitions can be picked up at the Election Commission. That day will be Monday, May 22nd. The next key date in the city election process will be a filing deadline of Thursday, July 20th, at noon. Early voting will begin on Friday, September 15th, and election day will be Thursday, October 5th. Should a runoff be necessary in a district race for city council, that date will be Thursday, November 16th.

A key date of sorts just passed last week: The January 15th cutoff for financial receipts, which must be disclosed by the January 31st deadline. Sometime next week, as the results of this first round of disclosures get known, the actual pecking order of mayoral candidates should become clearer.

Early leaders in the money race are thought to be Sheriff Floyd Bonner and Downtown Memphis Commission CEO Paul Young, with former County Commissioner and NAACP head Van Turner also doing well.

• Meanwhile, in the wake of reports that former City Councilman John Bobango is considering running for mayor, another white candidate is letting his interest in a mayoral race be known. This is Rick White, a realtor and relative unknown, who says he intends to devote much of his time to the message that the citizens of Memphis are the responsible parties in any potential strategy for resolving the city’s crime issue.

In what sounds like a paradoxical sentiment, the mayoral aspirant says, “Whoever is mayor isn’t nearly as important as telling the citizens that it is they, and not an official, who can do something about crime.” Conveying that message would be an important element in his campaign should he run, White said.

• Add the name of Frankie Dakin, aide to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, to the list of those thinking of running for the key District 5 City Council seat.

• Though the outcome of Tuesday’s special Democratic primary in state House District 86 could not have been known by the deadline (Tuesday noon, roughly) for this week’s print edition, it will have been posted subsequently in the Flyer in the form of an online article.

Like us, the Shelby County Commission was up against a deadline on the matter. As commission chairman Mickell Lowery notified members at the tail end of Monday’s regular commission meeting, January 31st is the final date for submitting legislation in the General Assembly; whereas, the commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting would not come until February 6th.

Whoever ends up representing District 86 in the state House should have the opportunity to formally file bills by the appointed General Assembly deadline, Lowery said.

Accordingly, the chairman announced a special called meeting of the commission on Wednesday of this week, for the express purpose of making a formal appointment of the top vote-getter as the state representative-elect. As Lowery noted, Tuesday’s leader would be eligible for that status because there were no Republican primary entrants for the position, making the Democratic primary winner the de facto winner of the seat and a proposed March 14th general election date moot.

Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. raised the issue that, depending on how close the election turned out to be, it might be difficult to designate a certifiable victor as soon as Wednesday. Nevertheless, the special called meeting date stands.

The District 86 seat was filled for 26 years by the late Barbara Cooper, who died last October after winning the Democratic primary for the seat in August. This week’s special election to name a successor was called after Cooper’s formal — and posthumous — reelection in November.

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Student Homelessness Surges In Memphis-Shelby County Schools

MSCS officials said the uptick in homelessness is likely the result of a lack of affordable housing, a longstanding problem in Memphis made worse by soaring inflation. (Karen Pulfer Focht for Chalkbeat)

Homelessness among Memphis-Shelby County Schools students has hit its highest level in at least four years, more than doubling from the same time last year.

New district data shows 1,504 students were identified as homeless as of Oct. 7, the end of the first quarter of the school year. That’s a nearly 180% increase from last fall, when the number of homeless students stood at 538.

And the problem is only getting worse, said Shawn Page, the district’s chief of academic operations and school support. So far this school year, Page said MSCS has identified and provided services to over 1,600 homeless students and their families — already topping the total number of homeless families the district supported all last school year.

“That is significant, and just shows the extreme need in our communities for homelessness services,” Page told the school board during Monday committee meetings.

Page estimates there are thousands more MSCS students experiencing housing insecurity whom the district has not been able to identify or support. The district largely relies on school counselors, social workers, and teachers to gather data on homeless students and support those families through individual schools, but sometimes, families can slip through the cracks.

The likely undercount is part of a nationwide pattern: A recent Center for Public Integrity analysis suggests 300,000 students entitled to essential rights reserved for homeless students were not identified by their school districts, which are required to help them. Some 2,400 districts did not report having even one homeless student, despite levels of economic hardship that make those figures improbable, according to the analysis, and many more are likely undercounting the number of homeless students they do identify. 

In nearly half of states, tallies of student homelessness “bear no relationship with poverty, a sign of how inconsistent the identification of kids with unstable housing can be,” the report said.

MSCS officials said the uptick in homelessness is likely the result of a lack of affordable housing, a longstanding problem in Memphis made worse by rising inflation. Rents in Memphis, for example, have risen by nearly 30% since before the pandemic, according to the November 2022 Apartment List National Rent Report.

Last year’s 36% jump to 538 homeless students appeared to be a near return to pre-pandemic levels, after virtual learning limited the district’s ability to get an accurate count of students without stable housing. The district’s latest report suggests that administrators are still struggling with the count.

The district is working to help students and families experiencing housing insecurity, Page said, from providing transportation, school supplies, and uniforms, to offering tutoring in homeless shelters and hotels and ensuring immigrant families without housing get translation services. MSCS also refers families to other community organizations that provide temporary housing to families at risk of homelessness.

But many challenges remain as homelessness continues to skyrocket, Page said, including tracking families who have fluid housing situations and having enough resources to provide them with clothing and household supplies. Page said many of the community agencies the district works with are also overwhelmed.

Page called on the community to address the issue collectively, drawing a link between homelessness and the district’s rising chronic absenteeism. 

District data released in May showed nearly 30% of MSCS students were considered chronically absent from school last year, meaning they missed 10% of school days or more. In September, district officials clashed with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland over his comments linking rising truancy to juvenile crime and criticizing MSCS for terminating its relationship with the district attorney’s office to enforce truancy laws.

“Every time a family has to change residence, they miss school, and that’s no fault of the family. That’s no fault of the child,” Page said. “We cannot criminalize poverty, and we cannot criminalize our families, because there’s a difference between missing school and legitimate reasons for not sending your child to school. Housing instability is a community problem that’s causing our children not to come to school.”

During Monday’s committee meetings, several MSCS board members said the new data aligns with what they’re hearing from families. 

Board member Stephanie Love said that earlier in the day, a woman from her district called to tell her she’d become homeless after her landlord sold the house she’d been renting.

Board member Amber Huett-Garcia called the data a “gut punch,” and asked the community to cooperate with the district to battle homelessness. 

“We don’t need to be overly political here to say that housing is a human right,” Huett-Garcia said. “Anything we can do, let’s get committed. If you’re listening and you think you can help, come step up.” 

Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, where she covers K-12 education in Memphis. Connect with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.