Admissions & Enrollment: Policies & Procedure

University Middle School Admissions & Enrollment

University Middle School seeks a diverse student body from across Shelby County, reflecting the racial, ethnic, socio-economic, geographic, and learning-style differences evident throughout our vibrant community. Admission is open to all residents zoned to a Shelby County School.

Admissions to a University School is limited and based on a school’s enrollment capacity in each grade-level in a given school year. No student is guaranteed admission to a University School. Admission priority is granted to applicants who meet the following priority admissions criteria including:

Priority Group 1: children of full-time University of Memphis faculty and staff members, siblings of currently enrolled University School students, students matriculating directly from Campus School,
Priority Group 2: applicants living within a 2.0 mile radius of the administration building, including full-time UofM students living in university provided Graduate and Family Housing.

Remaining space in each grade-level will be offered to general transfer students from within the Shelby County School system.

For all University Schools, applicants that fail to submit application materials by the advertised application deadline will not be considered for admission and will not be added to the waitlist after the admissions window has closed. An exception will be made for newly hired University of Memphis full-time faculty or staff members upon verification of full-time employment and hire date. These applicants will be accommodated if space becomes available in a grade-level or added to the waitlist in accordance with admissions priority.

Except as explained below, there are two qualifications required for admission to University Middle School:

Satisfactory Attendance: A student with fewer than 15 combined unexcused absences and tardies or early dismissals in the prior school year will satisfy the attendance requirement.
Satisfactory Conduct: Satisfactory conduct requires that a student received no conduct grade below Satisfactory in the preceding year.

Preceding year is defined as calendar year (January to December). Final attendance and conduct records are required to confirm admission for the upcoming school year and will be verified in June each year. Attendance and conduct records that do not meet the requirement and do not have a satisfactory exception letter (see below) will result in a student’s admittance being revoked.

Exceptions | Applicants who do not meet one or both of these qualifications must submit a letter of explanation. This letter may come from any teacher (not just the homeroom teacher), including support teachers (e.g. Art, Clue, Special Education), or a school administrator. The University Middle Executive Director and Assistant Director will verify and review an applicant’s exception letter to determine if exceptional circumstances apply.

Academic Bridge Program Requirement | If enrolled, students must submit their most recent record of academic performance before the provided deadline. University Middle will accept assessment results from any of the following: TN Ready, NWEA MAP, Shelby County Intervention Assessment, or Performative Assessment. This evidence is not used to determine admission. However, any student who is more than one grade level behind state recommended guidelines, in either math, science, or reading will be required to enroll in and attend University Middle’s Summer “Bridge Program.” This program is designed to give students focused, intensive help in areas of need to springboard them into the upcoming grade-level and to prepare them for project-based learning. The Bridge Program runs daily during the summer for approximately 3-4 weeks. Students must successfully complete the Summer Bridge Program to remain admitted to and attend University Middle School.

Enrollment | Returning student registration and new student enrollment takes place in the spring before the upcoming school year. The following records are required for new students to enroll at a University School. If you do not currently have access to these documents, we recommend you obtain them.

Copy of student’s most recent report card, including attendance and conduct grades.
Copy of child’s birth certificate
Copy of child’s Tennessee Child Health Record (immunization record) with physician’s signature or stamp
Copy of child's social security card

Proof of successful completion of the previous grade is required for all students. Once a child is enrolled at University Middle School, they may remain enrolled even if there is a change to their priority admissions status, such as if their residence changes or if a parent’s employment changes at the University.

For admissions and enrollment inquiries, please email enrollus@memphis.edu.

[Website Updated: 2.1.2022]