Desiring more family time, Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Betty Price will retire Oct. 1. But the move hardly will mark the end of a lifetime involvement in the arts. “Life is serendipity ” a door opens ” and it really was,” she said. The Northeastern State University graduate and Norman and Mid-Del educator plunged […]
Emily Jerman
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Elementary schools set MAPS improvements meetings
With a new school year under way, MAPS for Kids community meetings are picking up at area schools slated for improvements. Three elementary schools will host the first of their meetings in the next weeks: ” Hillcrest, ” Pierce and ” Edwards. At the other end of the process, Wilson Elementary, an Arts […]
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Linwood students shining, thanks to innovative education
According to a new No Child Left Behind report, Linwood Elementary students exceeded NCLB’s “annual yearly progress” benchmarks for the fifth year running, at the same time an increased number of state schools were placed on a needs-improvement list. Linwood’s achievement crossed the board, among all students and ELL, male, female, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged […]
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Capitol exhibit censored, says artist
A University of Central Oklahoma art instructor has claimed some of his works on display in the state Capitol this summer were censored. Photographer Narciso Argüelles said two of his pieces (above and below) for the “Human Landscapes” exhibit, showing in the North Gallery through Sept. 2, were taken down because they were deemed too political. […]
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OU houses several Galileo originals
By 1632, Italian mathematician, physicist, astronomer and “father of science” Galileo Galilei wrote “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.” Today, the scientist’s own copy, with his gracefully slanted notes in the margins, rests halfway around the world, in the University of Oklahoma’s History of Science Collections in Bizzell Memorial Library, in Norman. Visitors viewing […]
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OKC school officials confident as new academic year begins
With Oklahoma City children returning to class today, district officials’ message during a regular board meeting Monday night was one of preparation and confidence. New Superintendent John Q. Porter said a team of 81 people from the district’s central office had been identifying concerns at each school in the last month in an attempt […]
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Public schools to put $250M bonds to vote
The Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education approved putting nearly $250 million in bonds before voters this fall during its Monday night meeting. If passed, the effort ” the 2007 Capital Asset Maintenance and Improvement Plan ” would not raise taxes, according to district officials. The bonds would go toward preserving and enhancing work […]
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Former Oklahoma football coach aiding public school tutoring program
Tutoring programs for Oklahoma City children will benefit through this month’s teaming up of a wireless provider and former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer. Through the end of August, Alltel Wireless will donate $100 to the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation fund for each OKC resident who:” switches to the provider, ” renews […]
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Wicked: The Grimmerie
David CoteHyperion$40ISBN: 1401308201 Missed “Wicked”‘s sold-out sweep of Oklahoma City last month? For the cost of a back-row ticket to the touring production, “Wicked: The Grimmerie” gives perusers a front-row seat backstage. Think of it as the program from the musical — expanded into a production as thoroughly designed as the main course itself, from […]
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Mentally ill at risk of homelessness if untreated
For Billy Semler, a self-described quiet man who spent 26 years as a respiratory therapist, the “hellishness” began four years ago. The one-time junior college football player and aerospace worker was in his 50s. “I had a business that was struggling,” he said. “I had a second wife and she had a little girl, and, […]