Memphis City Schools (MCS) was the

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

operating public schools in the city of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, 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. The merger took effect July 1, 2013. After much legal maneuvering, all six incorporated municipalities (other than Memphis) created separate school districts in 2014. Total enrollment, as of the 2010-2011 school year, was about 103,000 students, which made the district the largest in Tennessee. MCS served the entire city of Memphis. 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. As of August 2014 there are six new municipal school districts. Collierville Schools,

Bartlett City Schools Bartlett City Schools is a municipal school district serving Bartlett, Tennessee, United States. Location In February 2014, the school district moved its headquarters from Bartlett City Hall into the former special education offices at Bartlett ...

, Millington Municipal Schools, Germantown Municipal Schools, Arlington Community Schools and Lakeland School System. Shelby County Schools serves the city of Memphis and as well the

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

s of Shelby County.

History

Berclair Elementary School sign in Spanish Memphis TN 2013-01-01 015

In the mid-1960s, the district had about 130,000 students. The numbers of white students and black students were almost equal. 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 ''

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'', "subterfuge and delay". Desegregation first began with the Memphis 13, a group of first graders. In 1973, the federal government ordered

desegregation busing Race-integration busing in the United States (also known simply as busing, Integrated busing or by its critics as forced busing) was the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools within or outside their local school districts in ...

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. 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. The incident was reported in national news. In 2011 Marcus Pohlmann, a

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...

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."

School uniforms

All MCS students were required to wear school uniforms from the fall of 2002 until the district was dissolved in 2013. Students could wear

oxford shirt A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt, is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dress ...

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain durin ...

s, 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. 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.

Schools

K-12 schools

Alternative
Avon-Lenox School

Secondary schools

7-12 schools

Zoned * Bellevue Middle School * East Career and Technology Center * Kingsbury Middle/High School * Oakhaven Middle/High School * Treadwell Middle/High School

High schools

Zoned * George Washington Carver High School * Central High School * Cordova High School (Unincorporated Shelby County) * Craigmont High School * Douglass High School * East High School (Formerly a middle and high school) * Fairley High School * Frayser High School (Formerly a middle and high school) * Germantown High School * Hamilton High School * Kirby High School * Manassas High School * Melrose High School * Mitchell High School * Northside High School * Watkins Overton High School * Raleigh-Egypt High School * Ridgeway High School * Sheffield High School * Southside High School * Trezevant High School (Formerly a middle and high school) * Booker T. Washington High School * Westwood High School * White Station High School * Whitehaven High School * Wooddale High School Alternative * Middle College High School

Middle schools

6-8
Cordova Middle School
6-8

Colonial Middle School

* Riverwood Middle School

* South Side Middle School

(a 7-12 school until 07-08)

(

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)
Wooddale Middle School
7-8

K-8 schools

Zoned

Alternative

K-7 schools

Zoned

Elementary schools

Zoned elementary schools

K-6

* Jackson Elementary School * Kingsbury Elementary School * Levi Elementary School * Oakhaven Elementary School * Shelby Oaks Elementary School * Treadwell Elementary School * Wells Station Elementary School
Westside Elementary School
* Westwood Elementary School * White's Chapel Elementary School * Whitney Elementary School K-5

(Unincorporated Shelby County)
Bethel Grove Elementary School
* William Brewster Elementary School

Germanshire Elementary School

Hamilton 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 * 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

K-4

Alternative elementary schools

K-6

Former schools

Former elementary schools

(closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Springdale Elementary School) * Lauderdale Elementary School (closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Larose Elementary School)

(closed spring 2007) (Students reassigned to Berclair 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. * Graves Elementary School, closed in 2014.

Former secondary schools

(closed spring 2007)

Former high schools

* Humes High School * Messick High School * Memphis Technical High School * Southside High School

Blue Ribbon Schools

Seven Memphis City Schools have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which honors schools that are academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement. 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, 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."

References

External links

* *
SCSK12.org
- Official Shelby County Schools Website {{Authority control City Schools 2013 disestablishments in Tennessee Educational institutions disestablished in 2013 Former school districts in the United States School districts in Shelby County, Tennessee