Bella Cornell, 17, remembers the day in middle school when her classmates asked her if she was a cannibal. The only Native American student in her Oklahoma City public school, Cornell was in history class when her teacher began describing Native Americans as savage barbarians who ate human flesh. When her peers asked her if […]
Education
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Nature’s classroom
John Rex Middle School has no loud alarm that rings letting students know that it’s lunchtime and no locker doors slamming shut and echoing throughout the hallways. The 75 sixth-graders who belong to the new middle school do their learning in the spacious and modern interior of the lower-level Crystal Bridge Conservatory at Myriad Botanical […]
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Taking charge
Like any student who just moved into town, new Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel is starting this school year as the new kid in class. Though he won’t have to worry about earning good marks in math or science, there are plenty of other ways McDaniel will be tested in his first year […]
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Realized potential
In fall 2015, single mother of four Camille Dennis was enrolled in the nursing program at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC), ready to venture down a path of continued education that would ultimately land her and her family in a more secure financial position. But there was an element of uncertainty surrounding her schooling. Her […]
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Bright future
In 2019, Positive Tomorrows — Oklahoma City’s only school for homeless children — celebrates its 30th anniversary. The milestone year also happens to be when the school will open doors on its large new facility east of State Fair Park, nearly quadrupling the size of its current building. “The timing is excellent,” said Positive Tomorrows […]
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‘Hypersexualized’ environment
The alleged sexual misconduct of University of Oklahoma (OU) emeritus professor and former donor John Scamehorn has garnered a lot of attention recently, but some former students are saying the university’s school of drama fostered an environment that might have been conducive for such harassment. Scamehorn’s donor status with OU’s Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine […]
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No Pax
John Scamehorn dreamed of a world where “insolent women causing trouble are given their just reward.” Now a group of outspoken women might lead him to his own comeuppance. In the first weekend of June, several Facebook and social media posts popped up with allegations of sexual harassment against Scamehorn, an emeritus professor at University […]
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Another path
This month, Emerson South principal Brad Buxton received a few phone calls from parents asking that he perform graduation checks on their students; however, Buxton doesn’t mind. In fact, he looks forward to delivering the news that their sons or daughters will walk across the stage to receive a high school diploma. “That’s why you […]
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Walk, run
The moment Lauren Richter, a fifth-grade teacher in Shawnee, decided to run for office came during the fourth day of the statewide teacher walkout, when educators and their allies continued to demand additional funding for public schools. Educators filled the state Capitol to capacity. Thousands of teachers remained outside the building. “There was no one […]
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Sharply focused
On the second floor of Oklahoma City Hall, just inside the mayor’s conference room connected to both the mayor’s office and the council chambers, framed portraits of the city’s past mayors have always hung on the wall. Not so anymore. On his first day as the City of Oklahoma City’s 36th mayor, David Holt left […]