Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/tag/oklahoma-education/)
When a rural, southeastern Oklahoma school district was struggling and on the verge of closing, Epic Charter Schools stepped in. The deal, which expanded its “blended learning” presence beyond the two metro areas, allowed Epic to have the trappings of traditional public schools and receive a cut of the funds, as well as gain a toehold in rural Oklahoma.
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday made his first appointment to the state Board of Education. Carlisha Williams Bradley is the executive director of ImpactTulsa, which connects public school districts with nonprofits, businesses and civic leaders.
A strategic plan laying out one-year and four-year goals for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration, obtained by Oklahoma Watch, includes securing gubernatorial control of all state agencies and boards, changing the educational system and launching an initiative aimed at social issues.
The eye-popping statistic from a recent report made headlines: In Oklahoma, 30,000 teachers have left the profession in the past six years. But there were other interesting trends to unearth in the 124-page report.
Thousands more Oklahoma students were held back in early grades than what the U.S. Department of Education reported, according to newly released state data.
Fifth-graders would become middle-school students under an Oklahoma City Public Schools proposal unveiled recently. Some parents are concerned about the change, and research is scant regarding the benefit to children of having them start middle school sooner.
The founders of Epic Virtual Charter School donated at least $145,000 total to dozens of candidates in this year’s elections. The donations outpaced those from the Oklahoma Education Association PAC and have come amid continuing dramatic growth in enrollment at the online school.
School letter-grade report cards are coming back after a two-year hiatus, but with a different focus and some changes in how metrics are calculated. One pending change is a downplaying of the overall letter grade on the report cards to be displayed on the state’s website.
A blast email to the state’s teachers praising gubernatorial candidate Kevin Stitt’s education plan has made some of them furious. The sender, who said she was a public school teacher, sent the message to teachers’ work emails, which some of them said was inappropriate.
A teacher pay raise wasn’t enough to put the brakes on a massive shutdown of schools this week. Teachers say making more money is important, but the issues facing the profession go deeper than what they’re paid.