Lack of competitive bidding over reading program software was questioned in suspended Superintendent John Q. Porter’s former school system while he was there, according to a Washington Post report. Failing to seek competitive bids for expanding the same program lies at the top of a notice detailing 21 allegations against Porter that led to his […]
Emily Jerman
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School superintendent’s suspension causes heated board meeting
A meeting that originally slated approving MAPS for Kids design reports turned into a forum for voicing anger and frustration to the Oklahoma City Public Schools board Monday night. Nineteen community members signed up to speak at the regularly scheduled meeting, which followed the school board’s suspension of Superintendent John Q. Porter Monday morning. David […]
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Students sought for free transportation industry program
The application deadline is approaching for Oklahoma high school students interested in participating in a free summer program highlighting the transportation industry, June 1-26. Hosted by Langston University, the four-week, residential Summer Transportation Institute will introduce students to transportation modes and careers through:” field trips, ” hands-on activities and ” presentations. The application deadline is […]
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Urban League gets OK for $5.1 million housing development
A new affordable housing development in northeastern Oklahoma City should break ground in six months if all goes according to plans. Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City gained the Oklahoma Housing Finance Authority board’s approval this week to receive $500,000 in tax credits toward the development, according to a press release. Valerie Thompson, Urban League president, […]
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Statehood celebration protested by American Indians
A large group of American Indian people, wearing red armbands suggesting solidarity, gathered to protest telling only one side of Oklahoma history Friday outside the state Capitol. While crowds converged on Guthrie to commemorate statehood day, the protest ” featuring several speeches, dancing and a drum group ” maintained a notably muted tone. Signs scattered […]
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Black community, city leaders dodged bullet in resolution of 1969 trash strike
An estimated 1,500 black marchers progressed up to the steps of Oklahoma City’s City Hall, highway patrol troopers wary with shotguns across their chests, riot sticks at hand. Council members peered down from windows overhead. Throughout the city, 19 of the normal 80 sanitation department trucks wended their way to pickup sites, while residents they […]
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Black Oklahomans’ statehood experience focus of celebration
A celebration in Guthrie Friday aims to shed light on the black experience in Oklahoma at statehood ” a perspective that one event organizer says before seemed missing not just from centennial events, but history books. Sponsored by the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Black Heritage Committee, the African American 1907 Statehood Celebration weaves lectures with performances […]
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Poet Momaday debuts centennial work
Pulitzer Prize-winning Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday continued a lifelong interest in storytelling and oral tradition Friday with a debut reading of his centennial poem. Lt. Gov. Jari Askins introduced the Oklahoma native at a private reception in the Chase Tower downtown, citing his “rare and wonderful gift” with words. The poem, divided into three […]
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American Indian tribes celebrating statehood in own way
A century after statehood, the state’s American Indian communities will gather for a new ceremony of their own design. A literal and metaphorical journey into a new day, a sunset ceremony in Guthrie will close out the first 100 years of statehood Nov. 15 and point forward to the next. The centennial marks a time […]
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Bach subject of festival in Chickasha
German composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s work and life will be explored through Saturday during the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma’s six-day Bach Festival in Chickasha, via:” lecture-concerts, ” performances and ” film. “We’ll be playing the music, but we’ll also be talking about how the world is changing,” said Sanders Huguenin, USAO academic […]