THE 9:01

The 901: In-person or virtual classes? Shelby County parents have to choose

The 901 is your morning blend of Memphis news and commentary

Ryan Poe
Memphis Commercial Appeal
SCS Superintendent Joris Ray joined the health department for a press conference Monday afternoon, after the district announced an employee in quarantine. The employee poses no risk to the public, according to the health department, and schools will remain open, the district said Monday.

Good Wednesday morning from Memphis, where The 901 is back for the first time in nearly a week! But hold the applause: Starting tomorrow, the column will be on hiatus again through the upcoming holiday weekend. (Take that, British.) This morning, we'll have more on the forced relocation of the City Hall Occupied Protest, but first ...

Shelby County Schools families have a choice to make next week: they can either send their students back to classes, COVID-19 be damned, or opt for virtual instruction.

There's no word yet on when or how families will make that decision next week — or what happens if they opt not to, our Laura Testino reports. But the announcement comes after a survey indicated that many families are still uncomfortable with sending kids back to school: 69% want online learning while just 27% want in-person learning.

Here's how officials described the two options in a presentation to the school board:

OPTION 1: In-School Instruction

  • Daily in-class, teacher-led instruction
  • Digital curriculum platform to ensure learning continues without any disruption if an unexpected school closure occurs
  • Enhanced health & safety protocols (increased cleaning, mask usage, frequent hand-washing & hand sanitizer stations)
  • Reduced class transitions and large group interactions
  • Similar enhanced health & safety protocols on school buses

OPTION 2: At-Home Teacher-Led Virtual Instruction

  • Live online teacher-led instruction every day
  • Same digital curriculum platform & learning pace as in-school students
  • Support services available (ex. IEP meetings, ESL support, social emotional support, etc.)
  • Virtual parent meetings available
  • Limited availability of extracurricular programs & activities that require on-campus participation

That Shelby County Schools is moving toward a hybrid model isn't a surprise. And it's especially unsurprising considering the nationwide spike in cases of the novel coronavirus. So far, 17 states have paused their reopening plans, including Tennessee.

Shelby County is seeing a spike as well, seemingly hitting new records every week and yesterday announcing a two-day total of 594 new cases and four new deaths.

As a result, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray announced in a letter last night to staff that he'll ask the school board to delay the start of school by three weeks, Laura also reports in a separate story. That puts the start of school at Aug. 31, a couple of days after Gov. Bill Lee's state of emergency declaration is newly set to expire.

Speaking of reopening delays: Malco is rethinking its plan to reopen Memphis-area theaters, but not because of worries over a COVID-19 spike; instead, the theater chain says there aren't enough movies, our John Beifuss reports. Meanwhile, the Brooks Museum has announced a tentative reopening date of July 15, John also reports.

Police break up City Hall protest camp

Fifteen days after protesters began camping in front of Memphis City Hall, police this morning relocated the camp and detained about nine people who refused to leave.

Reporters Micaela Watts, Katherine Burgess are on the scene, as is photographer Max Gersh, if you want to follow them on Twitter. Here's video from City Hall this morning:

This is a breaking news story, so stay tuned for more details.

The City Hall Occupied Protest (CHOP) has a list of requests, but was generally asking the city to put more funding toward community issues like education and homelessness. Yesterday, the city put up a notice that the area will be cleared so that the city can renovate the roof and exterior of City Hall, our Laura Testino reports.

Speaking of CHOP: The protesters dug a garden in a grassy median near City Hall that they hope will feed the homeless, our Daniel Connolly and Max Gersh report.

Tigers' helmets to sport 'BLM' sticker

This football season, assuming their is one, every Memphis Tigers helmet will have a "BLM" sticker, standing for Black Lives Matter, our Evan Barnes reports.

Here's the photo football coach Ryan Silverfield tweeted out yesterday:

As Evan points out in his story, Silverfield recently chanted "black lives matter" at a march on campus and has also committed to standing against systemic racism.

Vergos spices it up in 'Barbecue Rich'

Charlie Vergos, grandson of iconic Memphis barbecue restaurateur and Rendezvous founder Charlie Vergos, just released a new stand-up comedy album, "Barbecue Rich."

After a brief listen — my introduction to Vergos' work — it's easy to see why the album (briefly) hit the No. 1 spot on iTunes, as noted in The Daily Memphian's write-up. The album is funny, yes, but more germane to the point of this column: it's a humorous look at Memphis and one of its best-known barbecue dynasties.

Here's a clip from the album, which you can also find on Spotify:

What else is happening in the 901

The Fadeout: Frog Squad

The creative, boundary-testing, genre-bending, Memphis-based space jazz collective Frog Squad just uploaded a new video, filmed in Crosstown Arts at the start of March, of the band performing its song "Ryan's Grove." Groove along as we fade out...

Like The Fadeout? Check out The 901's Spotify playlist

Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.

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