MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Several back-to-school supply drives have happened across the Mid-South, and next week the Memphis-Shelby County School District is holding its own.

With the start of a new school year for MSCS just over a week away, church groups, community organizations, individuals, and more are handing out backpacks, school supplies, immunization records, and more to children and their parents.

The smiling faces show excitement for the new gear and new school year. Memphis-Shelby County School leaders want parents and students to know that the district wants to help them get the semester started off right by hosting a parent event on August 5.

“We will have supplies for our families, immunizations, and registration support, so we encourage anyone to come out next Saturday to the board of education. It starts at 10 o’clock to get those supplies if they need them,” said Shawn Page, Chief of Academic Operations and School Support.

School board members said they are not just focused on the student’s education but also their health, both physical and mental.

“It’s not just about the education part of it also. We have resources in place, things that kids may need. We have counselors. We want to be a complete wrap-around service,” said MSCS Board Member Joyce Dorse-Coleman.

This comes after the first year of the new third-grade retention law, which does not allow students in the third grade to move forward into fourth grade unless they score proficiently in the English Language Arts section on the TCAP.

According to the Tennessee Department of Education, preliminary data showed around 60 percent of Tennessee third graders failed the English part of the test and were at risk of being held back. To prevent this, some board members believe testing students’ reading levels should be done even earlier.

“I would actually love to see that timeline moved up if they are going to talk about being on grade level really looking at our first graders because we know when you are behind it is hard to catch up,” MSCS Board Member Amber Huett-Garcia.

Board members said they believe with the changes being made, this should be a great school year.

“We are pushing our educators, we are pushing our board, we are pushing everybody to give their best every day because these are our futures,” said Dorse-Coleman.

The new school year for Memphis-Shelby County Schools begins Monday, August 7.