Category: okcps
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Discussing ClassenSAS Future at Northeast Academy in OKCPS
Today Shelly and I spent 2 1/2 hours at Northeast Academy in Oklahoma City Public Schools, attending an OKCPS sponsored information event for parents, students and families. On January 22, 2019, OKCPS district officials presented the “Pathway to Greatness” proposal at the monthly board meeting, which includes 3 different options for closing, consolidating, and relocating…
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Killing Classen SAS in Oklahoma City Public Schools
(Also see part 2 in this blog post series, “Discussing ClassenSAS Future at Northeast Academy in OKCPS.”) This past Tuesday evening, January 22, 2019, the superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools gave an important and divisive presentation to the OKCPS board and community. I was not able to attend in person, but did view the…
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Arab Spring and the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout
In this post, I’ll summarize a few key ideas I’ve been thinking about over in the past week as we’ve had the start of a populist uprising in our state reminiscent of other eras when activists have taken to the streets to change government, both here in the USA and in other countries. I pray…
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Inspired by Innovative OKCPS Teachers and Students at Arthur Elementary School
Arthur Elementary School (@Arthurokcps) in Oklahoma City Public Schools (@okcps) is one of just 114 schools nationwide participating in Apple’s ConnectED program. Every teacher and student at Arthur Elementary has an iPad tablet computer. This is the third year of the project, and yesterday teachers, students and administrators hosted an open house at Arthur to…
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Soften Your Syllabus
One course syllabus stood out for both my wife and I, in its confrontational tone and the overall “negative vibe” it gave us for the teacher and their approach to students. In this post, I’ll highlight some of these issues, the insights which came from my one-on-one meeting with the teacher yesterday afternoon, and some…
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A Transformed Political Culture in Oklahoma #transformOK #OklaEd
In Oklahoma, our elected officials need our support to pass legislation which will change our tax code and provide adequate funding not only for our public schools but also for a variety of important social services. Our legislative session is almost over, and legislators have not taken steps to address the budget shortfall for next year…
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Oklahoma Education Budget Cuts Affecting Classen School of Advanced Studies
We are facing drastic budget cuts for public education in the state of Oklahoma this year. These cuts are not caused exclusively by declining global prices for oil and gas. Tax cuts and tax credits sustained and increased by our legislators have and continue to play a major role in this crisis. When the price of…
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Cognitive Dissonance and Segregated Oklahoma Schools
Last Friday was a holiday for students and staff in Yukon Public Schools, where I teach 4th and 5th grade STEM full time. Thanks to Andre Daughty, Friday afternoon I was able to visit three of our local, neighborhood schools in Oklahoma City Public Schools near our house. Prior to Friday, I had visited John Marshall…
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Reflections on the Daddy Daughter Dance
Several weeks ago before Valentine’s Day, our elementary school’s student council hosted a “Daddy Daughter Dance” as a fundraiser. The brainchild of the 4th grade teacher who is this year’s student council sponsor, the Daddy Daughter Dance was a phenomenal success rivaled in attendance only by our annual PTSA Bingo night! by Wesley Fryer Not only did…