The Check-In: Why We Invest in Education
Recently I had the privilege of honoring an incredible education leader, Sarah Carpenter. Sarah is executive director of the Memphis Lift, an organization that educates and mobilizes parents to advocate for their child’s education.
Sarah’s passion was ignited when she realized how different her grandchildren’s education was at their respective schools. Despite both receiving good grades, the pace and depth of their learning was very different.
Sarah became a champion for educational equity and vowed “to level the playing field” for her grandchildren and for all the children in her community. An army of parents followed her lead and demanded that every child have access to a great school, no matter where they live.
Kentoria, Sarah’s granddaughter, cut the ribbon at the first KIPP charter school in North Memphis. In 2017, she became the first in her family to graduate college.
Her story is inspiring. Imagine what Memphis would look like if the talent in every child was nurtured and all fulfilled their potential.
That’s our goal: ensure that every child in Memphis has access to a high-quality education.
Sarah is only one of our partners. There are hundreds of dedicated, passionate, smart and motivated people working to improve student outcomes. We’re proud to work alongside many of them.
Our work is grounded in best practice and oriented around three strategies:
Supporting successful schools and new school models
Recruiting, retaining and developing great teachers and leaders
Elevating parent and teacher voice and supporting student-centered public policy
We’re seeing impact.
According to the Nation’s Report Card, 4th and 8th graders in Tennessee are outpacing the nation in math and reading proficiency. For the first time, Tennessee is ranked in the top 25 states for proficiency across both tested grades and subjects.
In Memphis, 76% of the schools that we work with are ranked TVAAS level 4 or 5 (the highest level of student growth). That number has more than doubled since 2018-19. 34% of the schools we support earned an A or B grade in the TVAAS evaluation, up from 16% in 22-23.
Memphis students – particularly those most in need, economically-disadvantaged students – are closing the achievement gap in reading and math when compared to their peers in Tennessee.
Find more data in our report on our theory of action.
This summer, close to 4,600 students are participating in high-quality, engaging (and free) summer school through Summer Boost, a partnership between local funders and Bloomberg Philanthropies. According to a national study, participating students gained on average an additional four to five weeks of learning in math and three to four weeks of learning in reading.
This progress is supported by additional learning time through the school year with high dosage tutoring for more than 1,000 charter students provided by Literacy Mid-South, On Your Mark, City Year and Peer Power.
This is the work of a lifetime. While there is much success to celebrate, there is a long way to go and much work that remains.
We’re committed to ensuring that every child has access to a great school, every classroom has a great teacher, and every school has a great leader. And, we’ve identified specific challenges to address, including improving early literacy and reducing chronic absenteeism.
Memphis’ students deserve the best leadership possible. Elected officials at all levels must put politics aside to lean in on policies and practices that will make a difference for their most important constituency: students in schools. All decisions must be made in their best interests.
At Hyde Family Foundation we remain committed to working with our partners to deliver a high-quality education for every child in Memphis. Join us on this journey.
Thank you for all you do to support a thriving, unified Memphis for all.
Barbara Hyde
Chair and CEO, Hyde Family Foundation