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These Shelby County schools are among best in Tennessee

By , Daily Memphian Updated: November 23, 2025 3:05 PM CT | Published: November 23, 2025 4:00 AM CT

Tennessee awarded dozens of Shelby County schools “reward” status, a credential for top academic performance. 

About 15% of the 459 schools earning the designation across Tennessee serve students in Shelby County districts. 

The Tennessee State Board of Education approved the designations in a meeting Friday, Nov. 21. 

Of the 44 reward schools in MSCS — an increase from 34 schools last year, according to the district — 28 are district schools. The other 16 are charter schools overseen by MSCS. 

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Topics

Tennessee Department of Education Memphis-Shelby County Schools Arlington Community Schools Bartlett City Schools Germantown Municipal School District Collierville Schools Lakeland School System University Schools Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Subscriber Only

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Laura Testino

Laura Testino

Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.


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