Known to the rest of the world as the "Home of the Blues" and the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll," Memphis's citizens also hail their city as "The City of Good Abode" and "The Soul of the Global Economy." Memphis is a vibrant center for business and culture. Its bustling, cosmopolitan downtown complements Memphis’s historic, riverboat town appeal. The Beale Street entertainment district is a popular hot spot for entertainment with its 25 nightclubs featuring blues, rock, pop, and jazz. The Memphis in May International Festival celebrates Beale Street's music, barbeque, and international flavor.
| Quick Stats |
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| Site Since: 2006 |
| Corps Size: 95 |
| Average yearly temperature: 62.3° |
| Car: Access to car is essential |
Salary: See cost of living  |
Memphis has 230 parks and more than 60 miles of bike routes which link the city's diverse neighborhoods. Memphis also offers an array of cultural attractions with close to 20 museums, including the National Civil Rights Museum, the Peabody Place Museum of Chinese Art, and The Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The city is also home to two state-of-the-art sports facilities and more historical sites per capita than any other U.S. city.
Memphis offers corps members a variety of neighborhoods. The downtown district, once primarily industrial, is now the city's definitive entertainment center, alive with restaurants, cafes, bars, sports arenas, and cultural venues. With condominiums, apartments, and houses continuously popping up, this district's population of 25,000 is expected to grow. To the east, offering a more residential and scenic setting, Midtown is home to Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, the world-class Memphis Zoo, and the Memphis College of Art. Midtown's Cooper-Young area has various coffeehouses, ethnic restaurants, and art galleries, while due north at the Overton Square Entertainment Complex visitors can find wine bars, funky shops, a movie house, and two theaters. East Memphis is home to Shelby Farms, the country’s largest urban park. Outside Memphis, corps members will find quieter bedroom communities with affordable housing in neighboring towns such as Germantown, Cordova, and Bartlett.
Corps Culture
Memphis corps members are known for their close-knit relationships. Corps members are oftentimes together and taking advantage of the many attractions in Memphis, such as local parks, hip restaurants in Mid-town, or Friday night football games at the local high schools. Our charter corps started a “Saturday Soccer” tradition that continues today with corps members and alumni meeting on Mud Island to play a heated pick-up game for the week’s bragging rights. Our Executive Director also hosts corps members for pick-up basketball games at his house on the weekends. Additionally, some corps members have played league softball and kickball throughout the school year as a way to showcase their athletic ability to the city. When our corps members tire of their own athletic prowess, they attend Memphis Grizzlies, Redbirds, and Tigers games together.
Our corps members also explore the city’s rich cultural and artistic programs together. Upon arrival in Memphis, our program staff takes new corps members to the historic National Civil Rights Museum located in downtown Memphis. This year, The Orpheum Theatre has donated tickets for our corps members to see each of their plays in the Broadway Series, including Avenue Q, Fiddler on the Roof, Legally Blonde, and The Color Purple. Also, just as the world has appreciated Memphis music, so do our corps members. They are frequently seen on Beale Street taking in the best Blues the city has to offer. Our corps members also look forward to Elvis Week in the fall - a week that celebrates the life of “The King” and ends with a candlelight vigil in front of Graceland.
The spring is festival season in Memphis and is among our corps members’ favorite times of the year. Just about each weekend is dedicated to a different celebration! We have Italian Fest, Barbeque Fest, Beale Street Music Fest, Greek Fest, Africa in April, Memphis in May, Sunset Symphony, Music and Heritage Fest, the Arts Festival, and many more. Each weekend offers the people of Memphis an opportunity to come together and celebrate one another’s heritage, food, art, and/or music.
Having such close personal relationships enables our corps members and staff to have effective professional relationships, too. Corps members meet with their program directors to receive individualized support after classroom observation several times throughout the year. Additionally, corps members meet with their content area peers four times throughout the year to plan effective instruction and to share best practices for their placements. No matter what the venue - whether at a professional development session led by staff and alumni or informal gatherings at one of the local coffeeshops - our corps members and staff are constantly striving to bring their students closer to meeting their class big goals and ultimately, educational equity for all students of Memphis.
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