Family Matters

By Dr. Sally G. Parish

If it does indeed take a village to raise a child, the University of Memphis has been that village for many families.

Founded in 1912 as “The Training School” in connection with the West Tennessee State Normal School, the schools we know today as “University Schools” started as classrooms in the administration building. As the university evolved from its training school roots over the past 110 years, much as changed, including the schools’ location and ages served. However, The UofM’s commitment to educating our local children and training future teachers has only strengthened. 

With a more than 100-year history, over 50,000 alumni and a long-standing reputation for student success, it is no surprise that family ties within our University Schools run deep. From the tiniest Tigers at the Barbara K. Lipman Early Learning and Research Center to our new faculty, staff and students of University High, the UofM has rounded out its educational compendium to extend from birth to graduation across six schools. The schools’ rich history and deep roots in the Memphis community continues to inform the way in which they serve students and families today, much as they have for the past century.

Michelle McKissack attended Campus Elementary school at the University of Memphis from 1975-81, beginning with her first-grade year. Alongside her five siblings, McKissack took the No. 33 city bus to school each day from her home in Cherokee Heights.

“My time at Campus School was magical,” McKissack said. “It was this wonderful melting pot of an experience.”

McKissack’s recollection of Campus School are filled with teachers such as Susan VanDyke, memories of performing for the President in the Administration Building and meeting amazing friends like Carolyn, who was the daughter of a University of Memphis visiting professor from England.

“I was introduced to so many types of people and cultures at Campus School … I really believe that laid the foundation for my outlook on life,” said McKissack, who has served as a member of the Memphis Shelby County School Board for four years, including her recent tenure as board chair.

The University Schools fall within McKissack’s district, making her the University’s official school board member. During her tenure on the board, McKissack was a critical element in the launch and approval of University Middle (opened in Fall 2019) and University High (opened in Fall 2022). In a full-circle moment, McKissack’s daughter, Bliss, is part of University Middle’s sixth-grade class this year.

“It means everything for my daughter to come back to where I started and for her to get a taste of that wonder I experienced when I was attending Campus School,” McKissack said.

Bliss has enjoyed joining the school community her mom helped to cultivate, saying that she is proud of her mother’s leadership and support, and that she is “really glad” to be enrolled at University Middle.

Bliss will have the opportunity to learn from a number of dynamic educators. Among those is Briana Scott Pittman (BS ’13, MA ’21). Pittman’s career started in a chem-tech lab where a supervisor suggested she would be a good teacher.

“I took a leap,” said Pittman, who is in her sixth year of teaching and her second at University Middle.

For those who know Pittman’s background, the transition into the classroom feels more like destiny than a leap from the lab. Pittman’s mother is Dr. Rebecca Scott (EdD ’16), a longstanding educational figurehead in the Memphis community. Scott’s career as an educator spans more 30 years, with the last 20 spent at Campus School, where she currently serves as director. Her journey with University Schools began two decades ago when she asked her husband to pull into the Campus School parking lot.

“I think that’s a school,” she told him. Indeed, it was, and that school has since been nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon school under Scott’s leadership.

Pittman remembers the early years at Campus School — living at the UofM for a few months and walking across campus to attend Family Gathering with her mother, where she had a front row seat to witness the community and culture that she helped to develop there.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Pittman. “I knew when I started teaching I wanted to be at a place like University Schools. If I ever went into education, I knew what kind of educator I wanted to be.

“From Sunday school to elementary school, I admired the relationship my mother had with her students and the amount of pride they have in showing her the life they have now because of the impact she had on their lives then.”

Pittman’s philosophy as an educator, “your personal best will always be enough,” is guided by lessons from her mother, much like many of our University Schools educators who could say the same of Scott’s impact.

“It is not every day you get to work alongside your superhero,” said Pittman.

Scott, also started her career as a math teacher. Since then, she has done a little bit of everything, ranging from serving as a classroom teacher to her longstanding tenure as the Campus School assistant director. Scott is in her third year of serving as the Campus School director — a role once held by Flora Rawls, who many know as the namesake of Rawls Hall on the UofM campus.

“My daughter was practically raised around Campus School and graduated from the University of Memphis, so I believe that teaching gives her an opportunity to give back to the institution that provided a great foundation for her,” Scott said.

Considering the unique opportunity Campus School has to not only teach children in grades Kindergarten through 5, but to also teach future educators as teachers in training, harkening back to the mission of the West Tennessee Normal School, Scott feels strongly that Campus School provides a special service to the campus community.

“Education is the key to success,” Scott shared. “Through education, we have the power to transform lives, break down barriers and provide experiences that shape and mold future generations.”

That transformation happens at Campus School every day under Scott’s leadership and the Campus School experience holds true to McKissack’s days as a student.

“It is a unique place,” Scott said. “We have spent years creating a respectful culture and environment that promotes excellence in teaching and enthusiasm for learning. Teachers and administrators are invested in their students and colleagues; and students have a genuine care and concern for each other. Our community works hard to create an environment where individuality is celebrated.”

Scott affirms that any student whose life has been touched by our schools is always welcome home.

“We are so glad that you went to the Campus School,” Scott said to the alumni. “We are here to celebrate your success. This is a place of love, a place where you are always welcomed and wanted.”

Scott often shares with her Campus School graduates, “Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger,” and that rings true for the Fox family. Ben Fox attended Campus School from second-sixth grade in the mid-80s. Some of his most fond memories include PE demonstrations in the field house with Ms. Coleman, the same PE teacher who would later teach his children, Laurel and Thomas, during their years at Campus School and who in most recent years has coordinated the school’s onsite COVID testing program, one of the first in the country.

Fox also recalls other Campus School teachers who had an impact on his life, Ms. Branch and Ms. Stokes among them. Fox’s years at Campus School aligned with great success from the Memphis State Tigers basketball program. He remembers when Tiger basketball players would cut through the Campus School playground.

“Our favorite thing to do was to try to get one of them to dunk the basketball on the playground basketball court,” Fox said. “Keith Lee was like a superhero to us, and we got to see him just walking across our playground.”

The Tigers made it to the Final Four in 1985. Decades later, with Memphis Tigers’ fanfare still abounding, Fox gets to appreciate it in a different light as a parent of two University Schools’ students.

When Fox and his wife, Elizabeth, moved back to Memphis in 2008, they were looking for a future school home and the University drew them back. Their journey as parents began with the Early Learning & Research Center (ELRC), affectionately known to many as “Lipman” in honor of Barbara K. Lipman.

“Lipman is such a special place with a real school community,” Fox said. “We appreciated that the school placed an emphasis on developing our children. If we could have waved a magic wand to design the exact type of pre-school we wanted to be a part of, Lipman was pretty much it.”

Both of Fox’s children have remained in the University Schools system since beginning at the ELRC. Laurel shared that she has enjoyed looking at Dad’s old yearbooks and seeing how much the schools have evolved over time.

“It’s pretty cool to know he went there and now I am going there,” Thomas said.

Laurel attended Campus School from first-fifth grade where her favorite memories included Family Gathering and Spring Fling. she is now a seventh-grade student at University Middle.

“The teachers have lots of personality and are energetic and they make their classes entertaining,” said Laurel, who also enjoys University Middle’s approach to education through project-based learning (PBL), which involves an experiential, hands-on application.

“The PBL projects are like nothing I have ever done before. They are intense and teach us lots of important stuff, but they are also so much fun. They are everyone’s favorite thing about U Middle.”

Thomas is a fourth-grade student at Campus School.

“I am so glad I go to Campus School,” Thomas said. “Campus School does a good job of making learning fun, and it feels special to be at the University of Memphis.”

Thomas has aspirations of being an engineer who designs video games. He learned about the engineering design process in his third-grade class from his teacher, Ms. Humphrey. Humphrey (BA ’11) attended the University of Memphis herself and was a UofM cheerleader while also pursuing her degree in education.

“As parents, Elizabeth and I really appreciate the opportunity to have our children in diverse, enriched, public schools on a college campus,” Fox said. “Having that in Memphis is really special.”

Laurel agrees, “Being on the University of Memphis campus makes us feel special, and different from other schools.”

This fall, as University Schools celebrates its 110th year of teaching and learning, it will also celebrate its first year of realizing its full potential as a PK-12 educational compendium. Nearly 40 years after his own time at Campus School, Fox looks forward to his children’s future with the University of Memphis.

“Like many families, we are incredibly excited for the potential of having our children complete pre-school through high school on the University of Memphis campus,” said Fox. “There aren’t many opportunities to go to school with some of the same people from 2 years old through 12th grade, and we now have that opportunity.”