“If we’re going to operate as a fully functional 24-hour downtown, we need more than an elementary school. We need a middle school and a high school,” said Russell Claus, city planning director, about John W. Rex Elementary School, under construction at Sheridan and Walker avenues. The $14 million charter school is the result of […]
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Common controversy
If things go as planned, Common Core could reorganize curriculum, change old-school teaching styles, add more weight to literacy and redefine standardized testing. In one year, it’s supposed to be fully implemented in all Oklahoma schools, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) just started looking for new tests. It has been a loaded […]
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OKC schools need real change
After more than 35 years in the education realm, retiring Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer said that he is most proud of three policies he helped implement. He brought the “Great Expectations” curriculum to elementary schools and Teach for America to the district and put into place a year-long school schedule that allowed […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics
Two vehicles for James Cagney anchor the box: 1931’s The Public Enemy and 1949’s White Heat. Today, he remains indelibly associated with tough-guy roles, and it’s easy to see why. In the former, he demonstrates his might and power with a grapefruit; in the latter, he makes an electrifying exit with the immortal cry of […]
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LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number […]
Posted inNews
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number […]
Posted inMusic
Radio gets ‘Red’ again
Roughly eight years ago, The Red Dirt Radio Hour got its start on KVOO-FM 98.5 in Tulsa. The program specialized in spotlighting Oklahoma bands like the Red Dirt Rangers, whose unique sound can best be described as a mash-up of rock, folk, country and blues. Rangers member John Cooper helped found the program. However, he […]
Posted inMusic
Big time
Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken — the two minds behind electronic duo Big Gigantic — met while playing in various jazz and funk bands around the greater Boulder, Colo., area before rooming together and deciding to collaborate. Old habits die hard. “[Lalli] said, ‘I’m making these beats, and I want to play sax over it.’ […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Brooklyn Castle
The feature debut of director Katie Dellamaggiore, the documentary is now available on demand from FilmBuff. While this institution holds more championship chess titles than any other middle school in the nation (26), the film opens with them experiencing loss — well, second place, at least, among 862 teams. They win so often that not […]
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Degrading the grade
Most districts have opted not to release the grades until the State Board of Education certifies them at its Oct. 25 meeting. Board members voted last week to halt its issuance so agency officials could review the evaluation system, which many district superintendents claim is flawed. The one exception in the metro, Putnam City Schools, […]