May 2, 2022

Greetings, Stellar Educators. It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and I can’t say thank you enough for your dedication and HEART work while serving our families! You inspire students to be confident about learning. The enthusiasm, patience, and countless hours that you invest in your students has not gone unnoticed. Thank you so much for everything that you do each and every day to ensure that our students excel academically as well as holistically.

As was shared in Friday’s District Update, we have a lot planned for this week—fun, interactive activities every day, special events like a Grizzlies Trivia Night and the inaugural Excellence in Education Gala (limited seats still available), and the chance to win some really phenomenal prizes. The celebration starts now … please accept this token of appreciation from our Human Resources team, a FREE MEAL from Guthrie's restaurant. Click here to access your coupon.

As we celebrate our shining stars during Teacher Appreciation Week, I am sponsoring 10 teachers to be my SPECIAL guests at the Excellence in Education Gala, Thursday, May 5, 2022, at the Hilton Memphis at 6 p.m. For your chance to qualify as a guest at my reserved table with complimentary admission, share your most creative and exciting rendition of the “Victory Roar.” Use the hashtag #SuptsSpecialGuest (Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram) beginning now until 12 p.m. (noon) on Wednesday, May 4. Winners will be notified.  Ready, Set, VICTORY ROAR!

I will forever be a teacher first, so trust me when I say I understand how challenging, yet rewarding, this journey can be. For that, I again want to personally thank each and every one of you for your invaluable commitment! Sincerely,

Dr. Joris M. Ray Superintendent Memphis-Shelby County Schools   Together, we MUST BELIEVE. Together, we WILL ACHIEVE. Together, we are REIMAGINING 901.