Residents Touring Memphis

The residents had the opportunity to see the city with Mr. Charles, the greatest bus driver in Memphis, and Memphis Jones, docent extraordinaire.

The residents visited three ASD Schools, Frayser Elementary, Corning Elementary, and Conerstone Preparatory. After the school tour, residents debriefed the experince led by Nate Monley, Resident Coach.

Here we go again, working together as a team. The ropes course at Brideges allowed everyone to leave their comfort zone and enter, the Stretch Zone.

What a great way to refuel than eating a meal at South of Beale.

This group will be reponsible for children's education in Memphis. TEAM ASPIRE!!!

 
.

Aspire Teacher Residents

Next week our teacher residents will be joining us in Memphis to get to know the city. They are spending this year learning from their Mentor teachers. We are so excited to have the opportunity to spend the week with them!

Choose 901

Choose 901 is a great website to learn more about Memphis.  Check it out and let me know what you think! We are partnering with them to plan our trips for Residents to Memphis and to do recruitment.

Countdown

We officially have a countdown clock at EMERGE!!  I can't believe there are only 258 days until we start school next year. Time is flying by!!

Aspire Billboard!

This is a picture of a billboard we have posted in the community to help get the word out!

Community Outreach in Whitehaven

We passed out information at a church in Whitehaven during an event that was promoting voter registeration.  Everyone loved our shirts!

Barbara & Tamara

The last two days we had the fortunate opportunity to spend some time with Barbara Harris, our founding principal for Memphis and Tamara Buckner, our Memphis Principal Resident.  They were here for a quick trip because we had interviews for a grant.  Both Barbara and Tamara had a great time getting to know the other charter leaders and visiting classrooms.  Feel free to ask them about it next time you seen them!

This is a photo of a mural along the Green Line ( my personal Memphis fav!). I forgot to take a picture of Tamara and Barbara this week. :(

Listening Tours

Last week we started our Listening Tours to give a variety of communities a chance to learn more about Aspire.  Here are the details:

Listening Tour Stops

Thursday, September 13^th @ The Orange Mound Community Center from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Thursday, September 20^th @ The MAM Grizzlies Center from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M

Thursday, September 27^th @ Whitehaven Library from 5:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M

Thursday, October 11^th @ The Ed Rice Community Center from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M

Our first Listening Tour was in Orange Mound last week.  We had about 20-25 attendees and hope to see more folks tomorrow night at the MAM center in Alcy Ball.  Last week Tamara and Bria Shine, a parent and student from Alexander Twilight College Prep Academy attended the event. 

Tamara, Bria & Ron.

The Achievement School District

During the past two weeks we had the opportunity to spend time at Westside Achievement Middle School, one of the schools that the Achievement School District tranformed this year. Last week we met the Advisory Council, a group of 15 community members, who will be getting to know each of the charter management organizations who have been approved to transform schools next year.

Orange Mound Parade

This weekend we went to the Orange Mound Parade to celebrate the  Southern Heritage Classic.  We had a lot of fun and passed out information about Aspire. 

University of Memphis Football Game

Last week we attended a luncheon at the University of Memphis to kick off the school year and introduce the new Athletic Director, Tom Bowen, to the community.  It was a great event and a wonderful opportunity to network with the coaches. Every team at UofM is expected to engage the community through service.  We talked to a few coaches about having their teams work with our schools either after school or during the day as tutors.  When I was a principal at East Palo Alto Charter School we had a partnership with the Stanford Women's Water Polo Team and they came to tutor students once a week. 

On Saturday we were invited to the first game of the year- it was great! The team had to stop playing a few times due to thunderstorms, but they still put up a good fight.

A Picture with Mayor Wharton

We attended an event to support Mayor Wharton this evening and this time we took a photo with him! 

Free Books for Children Age 0-5!

I just found this great resource- Imagination Library we have to get all of our families to sign up.  Children ages 0-5 get a free book in the mail every month from Dolly Parton.

James Willcox comes to visit!

James came to visit this week and we showed him our new office.  We also met with several different potential partners in the community.  James enjoyed his time and ate lots of cat fish during his visit!

Memphis Connect

There are several organizations here that are designed to connect people throughout the city. This website highlights the many examples:

Memphis Connect

They also have a presentation called Memphis 101. We are going to be working with to include this presentation in our summer training.

Saree, Nick and I met with Mayor Wharton today.  We forgot to take a photo with him before he left, so we took one outside with the Mississippi River behind us. 

Today we met with Mayor Wharton, the city mayor, and found this great painting outside of his office.  It gives you a sense of the neighborhoods throughout the city.  We are considering partnering with schools in Orange Mound, Frayser, Alcy Ball, Whitehaven, Cherokee and Mitchell Heights. 

This week we met with several different groups and individuals to learn more about Memphis and develop possible partnerships for our future schools.

Youth Villages
This organization works with schools to identify families who need family counseling. They are the only provider that works with the family in their home. 

City Leadership:Choose 901
We are working with this organization to plan the first Memphis Resident visit in October. They are helping us design the itinerary and make sure it is fun!

Memphis Athletic Ministries  aka MAM
This faith based organization provides tutoring, bible study and sports  ater school.  They are adamant that students can't play until their work is done!

Memphis Daily News Article

The Memphis Daily News gave the Residents a shout out in an article today! Way to go Memphis Residents. You can read the article here:Memphis Daily News

Memphis is named "Most Improved Bike City"

Green Memphis

There is a lot going on around Memphis to promote a greener environment.  Every week there are several farmer's markets.  This Saturday I went to the one downtown and found an organic garden at the end of it.  I read more about this project here: http://www.memphiscitygardens.org/

This year we are going to have to name how we are having an impact in the community beyond our focus on College for Certain.  One thought might be schools with gardens that promote healthier eating habits. 

Memphis Regional Office- We have a home!

Nick and I found an office space at Emerge Memphis, an organization that supports start ups during their incubator year. You can read more about them at www.emergememphis.org

I Heart Memphis

A great way to learn about Memphis is through this blog.

                                                                  I Love Memphis Blog

The Central Library

There is an amazing children's selection in the Central Library.



Midtown shopping: plants, antiques, records and more!

Houses with Character!

This house is in the Cooper Young area of Midtown- all of the houses in this area range from $90,000-$120,000.

Is that San Francisco?

Nope! It is the Downtown Memphis Trolley!

Say goodbye to long lines and traffic jams!

Airport security is a breeze!

Yes, this  is the freeway at rush hour.

Where else can you get fried oreos?



Fried Oreos with dreamy whipped cream.

The school buildings have loads of character!

Peabody Elementary School in the Cooper Young area of Midtown.

Lovely Lofts Downtown

There are several lofts for rent downtown.

The Washburn has 1-2 bedroom flats that range from $800-$1500 per month.

The Civil Rights Museum: A Commitment to Keeping the Movement Alive

The Lorraine Hotel, where MLK was assasinated was completely converted to an extensive museum highlighting the Civil Rights movement from the beginning to the present.

                               A wreath hangs outside the hotel in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Memphis is a Fun for Foodies!

                              You can get more than just BBQ! Memphians are big time foodies.

Tons of Italian food.

Yes! Thai food.

Karen Carrier has opened several restaurants in Memphis from the Beauty Shop, Molly Fountaine's and Automatic Slim's downtown.