For 20 years, The Soulsville Charter School has been an anchor for opportunity and growth. Since 2005, we’ve committed ourselves to giving Memphis youth access to a high-quality education. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’ve seen incredible and continued achievement to evolve our programs and curriculum.
The Summer Growth Experience, a key part of our mission, encourages student involvement in opportunities through volunteering, entrepreneurship, jobs, and academic enrichment. This year, four students were selected to participate in the competitive St. Jude Research Program.
Soulsville maintains a 100% college acceptance rate for its seniors—a milestone that reflects the school’s commitment to high expectations, individualized support, and belief in every student’s potential.
Recent student achievements highlight our impact:
Lyric Brown was accepted to the prestigious Alzar School, and Londyn Grisby became the school’s second Gates Millennium Scholar in two years. Several students also earned spots through the QuestBridge program, connecting them with elite colleges and scholarships.
Two students were named to the Memphis Business Journal’s Next Gen program that connects young leaders with Memphis business leaders. The newly launched Soular Women Fellowship, supported by the Soulsville Foundation, awarded $500 grants to three senior girls demonstrating leadership.
Soulsville is also innovating at the middle school level in forming Junior Achievement, a program that recognizes and prepares top middle-schoolers for their next chapter. This makes Soulsville the first school to integrate a program into a full academic year curriculum.
The school’s work has earned national recognition, including the 2025 Cook Award for Excellence in Educational Access from the National Partnership for Educational Access.
So here’s to 20 years of impact at Soulsville and to the next 20, helping create the leaders and changemakers of tomorrow!
