The charter school operator KIPP Memphis has announced that it will be shutting down one of its city campuses at the end of the school year.
The Commercial Appeal reports that KIPP Memphis Academy Middle in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood will close June 1.
Officials blame the closure on low enrollment.
"Enrollment at [KIPP Memphis Academy Middle] has decreased the last few years," a KIPP news release said. "To be sustainable, we feel it is in our best interest to operate one middle school to provide the opportunity for more robust academic programming and community resources."
The closure will leave KIPP Memphis with three schools in Memphis — KIPP Memphis Collegiate Elementary, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle and KIPP Memphis Collegiate High — and 40 staffers without jobs.
The network began in 2020 with seven schools.
Terresa Todd, a spokesperson for KIPP Memphis, says students displaced by Memphis Academy Middle closing will have the option to attend Memphis Collegiate Middle and be provided transportation.
Students who have already been enrolled at Memphis Academy Middle will be automatically enrolled at Memphis Collegiate Middle.
