Charter schools were envisioned as institutions of innovation where teachers could have freedom to test new ways of educating students. However, many contend that the vision was lost when charter school proponents started promoting them as competitors for traditional public schools. As of May 2019, more than 7,000 charter schools existed across 44 states and […]
education
Cover: Tech boom
For its 19th annual celebration of local, regional, national and world film June 6-9 in downtown Oklahoma City, deadCenter Film Festival selected 140 features and short films. Among the final films announced for this year’s event include director Danny Boyle’s musical fantasy Yesterday, about a world in which the Beatles never existed, and Growing Up […]
Chicken-Fried News: Rank behavior
Despite the all-encompassing name U.S. News & World Report, the only thing most people know about the publication is its annual university rankings. The magazine announced last week that University of Oklahoma will be removed from a variety of its rankings including best colleges, best values and top public universities following a report from OU […]
Factchecking Oklahoma: Is state ed funding up $2 billion?
To say that taxes are unpopular among Oklahoma conservatives is an understatement. If the past decade is any indication, Republicans here are willing to hold the line on this issue, even when it comes to educating the state’s children. Earlier this month, former Gov. Frank Keating and Larry Parman, former secretary of the commerce and […]
Chicken-Fried News: Number crunch
Regardless of whether you believe in numerology, one number might have a significant influence over your lifetime in Oklahoma City: your ZIP code. A recently released study by Oklahoma City-County Health Department calculates life expectancy rates for OKC residents and reveals a nearly 18-year gap between the lowest and highest rates. While a resident of […]
Strong foundation
Freshman congresswoman Kendra Horn completed her first 100 days in Congress boasting support for bipartisan legislation and community outreach. Though she has raised more than $370,000 since January and outpaced fellow Oklahoma congressmen, she continues to prioritize “common sense” legislation. “That is separate from the work I have been doing as a member of Congress,” […]
Cover: Prepping schools
The Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) board of education voted March 4 to adopt a plan that will shut down 15 schools and reconfigure 17 others. Education officials say the plan will provide equity, increase efficiency and better serve all students across the district. Now, all hands are on deck working to make important changes […]
Commentary: Schools tied
If there were ever a school dedicated to achieving Horace Mann’s dream of making education “the great equalizer,” Harding Charter Preparatory High School would be it. Harding’s mission statement reads, “Provide every student with an academically challenging educational experience through an advanced placement (AP) curriculum, which will prepare students for success at a four-year university.” […]
Chicken-Fried News: Up top
Looks like Gov. Kevin Stitt’s goal to make Oklahoma a top 10 state is already working. It is just … maybe not what he had in mind. Three separate reports published since February found that Oklahoma tops the worst lists for online dating, being a woman and mental health for teenagers and children. First, a […]
Grade schools
Oklahoma’s schools will have a new way to analyze their work and see how they stack up. After going without school report cards for two years, the state board of education unanimously approved a revamped system that launched Feb. 28. Previous school report cards came on a single sheet of paper, with a large, bold […]
