Students settle into the first day of the 2026-27 school year at Kirby Middle School on Monday, Aug. 3, while teachers, staff and families welcomed them back to the classroom. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) 
Students settle into the first day of the 2026-27 school year at Kirby Middle School on Monday, Aug. 3, while teachers, staff and families welcomed them back to the classroom. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) 
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond, joined by school board members and district leaders, greets students and visits classrooms at Kirby Middle School during the district’s First Day of School Tour on Monday, Aug. 3. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) 
Students settle into the first day of the 2026-27 school year at Kirby Middle School on Monday, Aug. 3, while teachers, staff and families welcomed them back to the classroom. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) 
Students settle into the first day of the 2026-27 school year at Kirby Middle School on Monday, Aug. 3, while teachers, staff and families welcomed them back to the classroom. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender) 
Students settle into the first day of the 2026-27 school year at Kirby Middle School on Monday, Aug. 3, while teachers, staff and families welcomed them back to the classroom. (Gary S. Whitlow/Tri-State Defender)
Backpacks were filled, buses were rolling and classrooms were prepped on Monday morning, Aug. 3, as Memphis and Shelby County students began a new school year.
At Kirby Middle School, students lined up outside in crisp new uniforms, their backpacks loaded with fresh supplies. While some chatted with their peers, others waited anxiously for the doors to open.
A huge “Welcome Back” sign stood on the school lawn as smiling teachers, administrators and staff greeted arriving students. Even the Memphis Shelby County Schools head honcho, Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond, was on hand to welcome students back.
Richmond, along with school board members and district senior leaders, boarded a bus for a tour, dubbed “First Day of School,” across parts of the city. The group visited five schools, including Kirby Middle, where the superintendent went from classroom to classroom, greeting and encouraging students. The tour, the district said, was intended to set the tone for a “strong, student-centered year ahead.”
Once the bell rang and the young scholars were seated at their desks in classrooms, it was books open and pencils out. Time for the learning to begin.
