30-04-2025
MSCS interim superintendent releases 100-day plan
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Shelby County Schools' interim superintendent, Dr. Roderick Richmond, released his 100-day plan during a board meeting on Tuesday night.
The plan focuses on governance and board relations, student achievement, staff relations and capacity, operations and finance, community relations, evaluation, and accountability.
Dr. Richmond says it all comes down to more immediate priorities and that his first 100-day plan will go into effect on May 1.
Who is MSCS Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond?
He took questions from the board when they asked why this process took so long. He says one of the first items he had to complete as interim superintendent was completing outstanding contracts and working on an organizational chart.
When it comes to the actual plan, it centers around 'five A's'. Each 'A' stands for academics, attendance, attitude, athletics, and arts. In each category, he presented goals and metrics that they hope to complete within different deadlines.
School board members applauded him for the detailed and comprehensive plan, but wanted to get to the meat of it, asking what exactly he plans to do differently this time around.
Dr. Richmond says a complete academic plan hasn't existed in the last seven years and that he consulted with outside firms to see what changes need to be made so that the work aligns with the academic plan.
MSCS board members express confidence in interim superintendent
A major sticking point was also the use of 'feeder patterns', something he says will connect classrooms from elementary to high school to career development.
He used an example out of Southwest Memphis, sharing the proximity of the local schools to the Southwest Career and Technology Center and eventually to Elon Musk's xAI supercomputer.
'What if we start teaching coding, start teaching STEM, and that particular feeder pattern, when you look at our CTE center, students can go to that center and start to look at some of the careers around STEM,' Dr. Richmond said. 'In working in partnership, hypothetically, again with xAI, we can turn that whole community around.'
Some board members voiced their concerns with the feeder program, like Tamarquez Porter, who says this could limit parents' choice when it comes to schools.
But Dr. Richmond says it is just breaking the district down into smaller sections to tailor support and focus on the individual communities.
A full copy of the 100-day plan can be found below.
100 Day Plan Presentation Dr. Richmond UPDATED-final0429-3Download
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