Take Shelter, represented by Oklahoma City attorney David Slane, has alleged in court documents that Fallin, Attorney General Scott Pruitt and the State Chamber of Commerce conspired to defeat the petition drive, which required 160,000 signatures so the measure could be decided by voters. Slane claims the emails are necessary for a Feb. 25 Oklahoma […]
schools
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Train earlier, work smarter
And what better ways to fix the problem than starting in public schools? CareerTech and the Department of Career and Technology Education are asking for $35 million more funding. Nearly all of that would head directly into schools for “performance-based” funding. “A job for every Oklahoman and a workforce for every company,” NewsOK reported Sommers […]
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We’re no. 10!
Oklahoma is No. 10, rounding out the top offender list with a high school graduation rate of 73.9 percent, shows a study from 247WallSt.com. Per-student expenditure is the eighth lowest in the nation at $9,075. Our overall score was a 64.2, a D. The silver lining here is that somehow, we also scored an A […]
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Take Shelter Oklahoma wants Governor to release files
Take Shelter Oklahoma, led by Oklahoma City attorney David Slane, wants all communications between the governor’s office, the State Chamber of Commerce, lawmakers and Attorney General Scott Pruitt in connection with a public school storm shelter drive and the state’s franchise tax. The deadline for receiving the communications is Friday. “The governor has a practice […]
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Enterprise schools work best
All three types of choice schools have excellent records that are virtually indistinguishable. Our application-only school market is oversaturated, however, and we must think anew. OKC’s Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Reach College Preparatory, for instance, does great work, but its potential is maxed out. It still serves about half of the students as the […]
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Public education is changing
Today, “public education” is coming to mean something different: We want an “educated public” — and it doesn’t matter where that education takes place. Most students still go to the school closest to their house. But did you realize that in Florida, for example, nearly half the students (43 percent) go to a school other […]
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Shelter vote stalled
Legal wrangling between the group Take Shelter Oklahoma and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has focused on the wording of a ballot title that explains what the issue is about to voters. Take Shelter Oklahoma had until Dec. 16 to collect 160,000 signatures so the measure could be decided by voters. However, that plan has […]
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Lunch lady land
Gov. Mary Fallin’s former personal chef is now working for Southeast High School. That’s right. She debuted her special, Happy Trails Stir-Fry over Steamed Brown Rice, to fanfare — and requests for seconds — late last month, reports NewsOK. Robin Obert-Magturo will help decide what 41,000 Oklahoma City Public School children eat, in accordance with […]
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In reform, real focus on needs on students
Oklahoma’s education debate spends a lot of time on a few familiar subjects: education funding vs. tax cuts, vouchers and charters vs. traditional public schools and high-stakes testing vs. letting teachers teach. What’s too often missing from these debates is any consideration of the needs of real students. We’ve lost sight of the reasons kids […]
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Urban education renewal
Maybe that’s because she’s a product of an urban district, or perhaps it’s because she sends all four of her children to OKC schools. Still, one part of her story is certain: After graduation later this month, she’ll be ready for that first teaching job at U.S. Grant High School thanks to the Urban Teacher […]