Memphis Charter Schools Get $5M in State Grants

Ten Memphis charter schools are getting a $5 million block of grants from the Tennessee Department of Education.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced the grants Thursday, June 15, from a pool of $19 million in federal funding the state was awarded last fall specifically to expand the number and availability of charter schools to students.

The money is financial assistance for planning, program design and the roll out of new schools.

“These grants will allow more families the opportunity to have high-quality educational choice for their children,” McQueen said in a written statement.

These schools are new ventures by existing charter school operators in the city or new charter operators to the city.

The schools awarded the grants are:

• Artesian-Southwest Early College High School (9–12)

• Gateway University (9–12)

• Legacy Leadership Academy (6–9)

• Memphis School of Excellence Elementary (K–5)

• Kaleidoscope School of Memphis (6–8)

• Promise Academy (K–5)

• Memphis Delta Preparatory Charter School (K–5)

• Memphis STEM Academy (6–8)

• Memphis Business Academy Hickory Hill Elementary School (K–5)

• Memphis Business Academy Hickory Hill Middle School (6–8)

– Bill Dries

Alexander Seeks Extension Of ACA Cost-Sharing Payments

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee called Thursday, June 15, for the White House to extend temporary cost-sharing payments under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act “at least through 2018 – and probably should go ahead and do it through 2019.”

“These payments help to avoid the real possibility that millions of Americans will literally have zero options for insurance in the individual market in 2018,” Alexander said in a written statement. “Republicans will need to temporarily support some things we would not normally support over the longer term – and I would hope Democrats would do that as well.”

The call by Alexander was also made last week by House Ways and Means committee chairman Kevin Brady.

Alexander said the action by President Donald Trump could come through legislation, administrative action or some combination of the two.

The call comes as the Senate is drafting its own version of the American Health Care Act, a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

– Bill Dries

ArchInc Rebrands, Becomes Woman-Owned Biz

Architecture, Incorporated has rebranded as ArchInc – one of several changes that also includes the 23-year-old firm becoming a woman-owned small business.

Valentina Cochran, who has been with ArchInc for 13 years, is now the president and majority shareholder for the firm, which opens it up for opportunities to compete for minority business contracts.

In addition, Charles “Chooch” Pickard has joined the organization as a new partner. Pickard, who has two decades of experience in preservation efforts, was an intern at ArchInc for two summers 22 years ago.

Pickard joins founding partners Joey Hagan and David Schuermann, along with Cochran, at the firm.

– Bill Dries

Crye-Leike Executive Named To National Alliance Board

Steve Brown, president of residential sales at Memphis-based Crye-Leike Inc., has been added to the board of directors of The Realty Alliance, a network of North America’s elite real estate firms serving all major and mid-size markets.

The Realty Alliance provides opportunities for members firms to share ideas and influence the residential real estate industry. Alliance members access the best and latest ideas and solutions so they can provide the most qualified, expert analysis and guidance to real estate agents and their clients.

Brown, a native of Memphis, has been affiliated with Crye-Leike Real Estate Services since 1980. As president of residential sales for Crye-Leike, he oversees and manages real estate sales and assists managers and branch offices with core services in all regions of Crye-Leike, which covers nine states and a sales team of more than 3,100 associates.

– Daily News staff

Dixon Hosting Art Camp For Two Weeks in June

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is offering a free summer art camp for first- through eighth-grade students who attend Shelby County Schools in neighborhoods near the Dixon.

The camp’s main goal is connecting neighborhood families, students and schools with the local museum through art. For the third year in a row, the camp will take place in facilities of the University of Memphis.

The 2017 Dixon Art Camp will have two sessions during the weeks of June 19-23 and June 26-30. More than 100 students are registered for camp this year.

First- through third-graders will learn about painting; fourth and fifth-graders will delve into sculpture; and sixth through eighth-graders will tackle printmaking.

Thanks to community partnerships, field trips, supplies and much of the transportation for the camp are free.

Museum and art educators, local artists and a team of Overton High School art students will manage the activities and camp schedule.

An art show for all camp attendees and their families will be held Friday, June 30, at 2 p.m. in the University of Memphis Art Department building.

– Daily News staff

Kresge Foundation Awards $1.3 Million in Grants

The Kresge Foundation has announced that 10 local organizations will receive a total of $1.3 million in grant support to boost opportunity for Memphis residents.

The grants range in size from $25,000 to $150,000 per year and are expected to provide support over 12-24 months.

Kresge prioritized organizations working in the areas of community development, creative place-making, health or human services that focus on equitable outcomes for Memphis residents with low incomes; show evidence of local community support and collaboration with partners; and are multidisciplinary in approach.

The grant awardees and funding targets include:

• BLDG Memphis (formerly the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis) – For stabilizing and reinvigorating neighborhoods across the city of Memphis by identifying areas for strategic blight interventions with the aim of transforming these spaces into community assets.

• Historic Broad Avenue Arts Association – For developing a strategic action plan to leverage opportunities for inclusive development in the Binghampton neighborhood.

• AARP Foundation – For implementing a food prescriptions program in which Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients at community health centers and hospitals will receive incentive vouchers for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables in partnership with Kroger grocery stores, farmers’ markets and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Insecurity Nutrition Initiative.

• Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. – For launching intensive analysis, policy reform and practical training to address the widespread problem of unhealthy housing conditions in Memphis.

• United Way of the Mid-South – To support “Driving the Dream,” an effort to network human serving organizations so their collective efforts are person-centered and provide comprehensive support.

• Klondike Smokey City CDC – For piloting a youth apprenticeship and artisan development program that will address youth unemployment and blight using arts, culture and design approaches.

• Knowledge Quest – To develop an operating strategy, architectural master plan and greenhouse for the Green Leaf Learning Farm, an urban micro-farm, to increase opportunities for families and children through sustainable agriculture.

• The Works, Inc. CDC – For revitalizing commercial corridors in South Memphis.

• Leadership Memphis – To establish Plant the Parkways, to build and enhance public space in the core city through neighborhood and communitywide volunteer support.

• Memphis Library Foundation – To restore the Cornelia Crenshaw and Randolph branch library facades and public spaces in neighborhoods through a community-engaged design approach.

Since 2013, Kresge has made investments in Memphis totaling more than $2.5 million.

– Daily News staff