Tulsa Public Schools provided a monthly update to the Oklahoma State Board of Education outlining its efforts to improve the district's test scores and meet the state Department of Education's goals for the district.
TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson shared the launch of the district's new Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Program (OTEP) to provide accommodations for smaller groups of students.
The program is expected to support more than 1,100 low-scoring students with targeted small group instruction. In the district, he said, 118 teachers applied for the program, but only 45 were accepted.
“Certified OSDE personnel will interview OTEP teachers in their classrooms to enable OTEP efforts,” TPS said.
“The goal is simple: to ensure that children who need to improve their reading skills this year receive high-quality, targeted instruction and are fully prepared for the OSTP.” said Sean Berkstresser of the Tulsa Public Schools Information and Analytics Department.
The Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Program is just one of the district's important efforts to support students.
TPS also said the Oklahoma State Board of Education will staff some TPS school sites and OTEP teachers will work in small group settings.
Tulsa Public Schools then spoke about the district's recently launched “Attend to Win” campaign to get more students into the classroom.
State Superintendent Walters also announced the creation of the Oklahoma State Department of Education's Office of School Choice.
Walters said the new division will be a one-stop shop for everything related to school choice in Oklahoma. School choice programs allow parents to transition their children into a school that they believe will meet their child's needs.
He said OSDE was one of the first agencies in the nation to create this resource for parents.
“What we've seen is that we continue to provide more options for parents, which means children and their parents have a better chance of success.” Walters said.
Walters said creating this office will recognize the existence of the Oklahoma State Board of Education and help parents find all the resources available to them.
After Dr. Johnson delivered the district's closing remarks, State Superintendent Ryan Walters praised the Tulsa Public Schools team's efforts to improve the district.
“The team's turnaround of such efforts at the end of this year is one of the most remarkable things I've seen in the education world. And I've said it before, and I'll say it again. “What's happening in Tulsa is a model for the entire state of Oklahoma,” said Superintendent Walters.
“We have confirmation from the state superintendent and the board that we are moving in the right direction,” Dr. Ebony Johnson said. “They recognize the hard work and quick work we’re doing to see changes, so it brings good energy to the whole team.”
